Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd.'s (SGX:Z59) market cap dropped S$31m last week; Retail investors bore the brunt

Key Insights

• Yoma Strategic Holdings' significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 4 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Insiders own 29% of Yoma Strategic Holdings

If you want to know who really controls Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. (SGX:Z59), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 44% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders who own 29% came under pressure after market cap dropped to S$212m last week,retail investors took the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Yoma Strategic Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for Yoma Strategic Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Yoma Strategic 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 Yoma Strategic 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 Yoma Strategic 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 Yoma Strategic Holdings. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Yoma Strategic Holdings' case, its Senior Key Executive, Serge Pun, is the largest shareholder, holding 26% of shares outstanding. With 14% and 6.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ayala Corporation and Kopernik Global Investors, LLC are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Chi Pun directly holds 1.0% of the total shares outstanding.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Yoma Strategic Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just S$212m, and insiders have S$61m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 44% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Yoma Strategic Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 14% of the Yoma Strategic Holdings shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - Yoma Strategic Holdings has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.