Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust's (SGX:T82U) largest shareholders are individual investors with 50% ownership, institutions own 25%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX:T82U), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 50% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutions, on the other hand, account for 25% of the company's stockholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust.

Check out our latest analysis for Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust?

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.

We can see that Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust is not owned by hedge funds. Yigang Tang is currently the company's largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. ARA Asset Management Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 8.4% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 4.7% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust. Insiders own S$1.1b worth of shares in the S$5.2b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 50% of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust you should be aware of, and 3 of them are potentially serious.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.