Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Singapore Post indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 43% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Singapore Post Limited (SGX:S08) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 57% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 8.0% decline in share price, retail investors suffered the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Singapore Post.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Singapore Post?

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 Singapore Post. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Singapore Post, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Singapore Post. Our data shows that Singapore Telecommunications Limited is the largest shareholder with 22% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 2.3%, 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 it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Singapore Post

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 less than 1% of Singapore Post Limited. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It seems the board members have no more than S$5.7m worth of shares in the S$1.0b company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in Singapore Post, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 33% of the Singapore Post 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Singapore Post better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Singapore Post that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.