With a 71% stake, Aztech Global Ltd. (SGX:8AZ) insiders have a lot riding on the company

editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Sat, Jan 6, 2024, 6:04 PM 4 min read

If you want to know who really controls Aztech Global Ltd. (SGX:8AZ), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 71% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

So, insiders of Aztech Global have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Aztech Global

ownership-breakdown — SGX:8AZ Ownership Breakdown January 7th 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aztech Global?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Less than 5% of Aztech Global is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — SGX:8AZ Earnings and Revenue Growth January 7th 2024

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Aztech Global. With a 70% stake, CEO Hong Yew Mun is the largest shareholder. With such a huge stake, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. It's 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 with such skin in the game. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 1.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 0.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Aztech Global

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Aztech Global Ltd.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own S$507m worth of shares in the S$718m 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 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Aztech Global. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Aztech Global better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Aztech Global , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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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.