Private companies account for 51% of Servcorp Limited's (ASX:SRV) ownership, while institutions account for 28%
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by private companies in Servcorp indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
The top 2 shareholders own 58% of the company
If you want to know who really controls Servcorp Limited (ASX:SRV), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Meanwhile, institutions make up 28% of the company’s shareholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Servcorp.
View our latest analysis for Servcorp
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Servcorp?
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 Servcorp 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 Servcorp's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Servcorp is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Sovori Pty Ltd is the largest shareholder with 48% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.9% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Alfred Moufarrige is the owner of 2.8% of the company's shares.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.
Insider Ownership Of Servcorp
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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Servcorp Limited. In their own names, insiders own AU$13m worth of stock in the AU$408m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 18% stake in Servcorp. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 51%, of the Servcorp stock. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Servcorp better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Servcorp you should be aware of.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com