Significant control over Wilmar International by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 56% ownership
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
A look at the shareholders of Wilmar International Limited (SGX:F34) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 42% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Public companies, on the other hand, account for 22% of the company's stockholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Wilmar International, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wilmar International?
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 Wilmar International. 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. 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 Wilmar International, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
SGX:F34 Earnings and Revenue Growth October 20th 2024
Wilmar International is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is The Kuok Group with 27% of shares outstanding. With 22% and 7.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company and Khoon Hong Kuok are the second and third largest shareholders. Khoon Hong Kuok, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 56% stake.
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. 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 Wilmar International
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Wilmar International Limited. It is a very large company, and board members collectively own S$1.4b worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows a good alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 20% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Wilmar International. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 42%, of the Wilmar International stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Public Company Ownership
It appears to us that public companies own 22% of Wilmar International. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Wilmar International you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.
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.
