NetLink NBN Trust's (SGX:CJLU) top owners are individual investors with 57% stake, while 25% is held by public companies

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in NetLink NBN Trust indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 42% of the company
• Insiders have been buying lately

To get a sense of who is truly in control of NetLink NBN Trust (SGX:CJLU), 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 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Public companies, on the other hand, account for 25% of the company's stockholders.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about NetLink NBN Trust.

Check out our latest analysis for NetLink NBN Trust

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About NetLink NBN 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.

NetLink NBN Trust already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 NetLink NBN Trust's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in NetLink NBN Trust. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Singapore Telecommunications Limited with 25% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 4.9% and 2.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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

Insider Ownership Of NetLink NBN Trust

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that NetLink NBN Trust insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around S$11m worth of shares (at current prices). It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in NetLink NBN Trust, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 25% of the NetLink NBN Trust shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand NetLink NBN Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with NetLink NBN Trust , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.