Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Kawan Food Berhad's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership

• 57% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders

• Institutional ownership in Kawan Food Berhad is 11%

If you want to know who really controls Kawan Food Berhad (KLSE:KAWAN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 71% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

With such a notable stake in the company, insiders would be highly incentivised to make value accretive decisions.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Kawan Food Berhad.

Check out our latest analysis for Kawan Food Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kawan Food Berhad?

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 Kawan Food Berhad does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Kawan Food Berhad's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Kawan Food Berhad is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Thiam Gan, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 28%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 21% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.0% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Thiam Gan is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 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 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 Kawan Food Berhad

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 the majority of Kawan Food Berhad. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of RM687m, that means they have RM491m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kawan Food Berhad. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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