Every investor in Sterling Group Holdings Limited (HKG:1825) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Warren Buffett said that he likes ‘a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people’. So it’s nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.

With a market capitalization of HK$170m, Sterling Group Holdings is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions don’t own shares in the company. Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about 1825.

See our latest analysis for Sterling Group Holdings

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What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sterling Group Holdings?

We don’t tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it’s not particularly common.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don’t own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to fund under management, so the institition does not bother to look closely at the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Sterling Group Holdings’s earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors — or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in Sterling Group Holdings. As far I can tell there isn’t analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Sterling Group Holdings

The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.