With 59% ownership, Stamford Land Corporation Ltd (SGX:H07) insiders have a lot at stake

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Stamford Land's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership

• 56% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders

• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Stamford Land Corporation Ltd (SGX:H07), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 59% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of Stamford Land regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Stamford Land, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Stamford Land

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Stamford Land?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Stamford Land. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. 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.

Stamford Land is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Chio Kiat Ow (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 44% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 3.4% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Yiling Ow is also Senior Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Yew Heng Ow is the owner of 1.4% of the company's shares.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Stamford Land

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 the majority of Stamford Land Corporation Ltd. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means they own S$327m worth of shares in the S$552m company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 32% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Stamford Land. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 7.9%, of the Stamford Land stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Stamford Land you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.