Yahoo Finance While individual investors own 41% of Metro Holdings Limited (SGX:M01), private companies are its largest shareholders with 42% ownership
Key Insights
Significant control over Metro Holdings by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company
If you want to know who really controls Metro Holdings Limited (SGX:M01), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 42% to be precise, is private companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Meanwhile, individual investors make up 41% of the company’s shareholders.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Metro Holdings.
See our latest analysis for Metro Holdings
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Metro Holdings?
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 Metro Holdings. 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. 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 Metro Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Metro Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Eng Kuan Company Pte. Ltd. with 23% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 6.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ngee Ann Development Pte Ltd. and Leroy Singapore Pte Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of Metro Holdings
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Metro Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just S$422m, and insiders have S$34m worth of shares, in their own names. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Metro Holdings. 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
We can see that Private Companies own 42%, of the shares on issue. 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:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Metro Holdings is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those don't sit too well with us...
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. 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.
