Private companies among Wing Tai Holdings Limited's (SGX:W05) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 7.1% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Wing Tai Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 52% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Insiders own 12% of Wing Tai Holdings

If you want to know who really controls Wing Tai Holdings Limited (SGX:W05), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 51% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit S$1.1b market cap following a 7.1% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Wing Tai Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Wing Tai Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wing Tai Holdings?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Wing Tai Holdings. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Wing Tai Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Wing Tai Holdings. Wing Tai Asia Holdings Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. Empire Gate Holdings Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Wai Keung Cheng holds about 11% of the company stock. Wai Keung Cheng, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Wing Tai Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Wing Tai Holdings Limited. Insiders own S$135m worth of shares in the S$1.1b company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 30% stake in Wing Tai Holdings. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 51%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Wing Tai Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.