The big shareholder groups in Ascott Residence Trust (SGX:A68U) have power over the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
Ascott Residence Trust has a market capitalization of S$2.8b, so we would expect some institutional investors to have noticed the stock. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about A68U.
Check out our latest analysis for Ascott Residence Trust
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ascott Residence Trust?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
We can see that Ascott Residence Trust does have institutional investors; and they hold 16% of the 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. 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 Ascott Residence Trust, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ascott Residence Trust. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Ascott Residence Trust
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
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.
I can report that insiders do own shares in Ascott Residence Trust. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own S$31m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, with a 45% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.