Here's What Hong Fok Corporation Limited's (SGX:H30) Shareholder Ownership Structure Looks Like

Every investor in Hong Fok Corporation Limited (SGX:H30) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

Hong Fok is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of S$587m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions don't own many shares in the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Hong Fok.

View our latest analysis for Hong Fok

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hong Fok?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Institutions have a very small stake in Hong Fok. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Hong Fok is not owned by hedge funds. Hong Fok Land Holding Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 21% of shares outstanding. Sim Eng Cheong is the second largest shareholder owning 14% of common stock, and P.C. Cheong Pte Ltd holds about 11% of the company stock. Sim Eng Cheong, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Co-Chief Executive Officer. In addition, we found that Pin Chuan Cheong, the CEO has 2.7% of the shares allocated to their name.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Hong Fok

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Hong Fok Corporation Limited. It has a market capitalization of just S$587m, and insiders have S$132m worth of shares in their own names. I 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 36% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over Hong Fok. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 39%, of the Hong Fok stock. 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:

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 - Hong Fok has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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. 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.
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