Key Insights

• Significant control over Bukit Sembawang Estates by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 14 shareholders own 49% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

If you want to know who really controls Bukit Sembawang Estates Limited (SGX:B61), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, individual investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 8.0%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Bukit Sembawang Estates, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Bukit Sembawang Estates

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bukit Sembawang Estates?

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.

Bukit Sembawang Estates already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Bukit Sembawang Estates' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bukit Sembawang Estates. Selat (Pte) Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.5% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 14 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Bukit Sembawang Estates

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 less than 1% of Bukit Sembawang Estates Limited. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than S$5.5m worth of shares in the S$865m company. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 51% of Bukit Sembawang Estates shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 43%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Bukit Sembawang Estates better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Bukit Sembawang Estates (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.