Key Insights

• Significant control over WCE Holdings Berhad by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions

• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership

• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of WCE Holdings Berhad (KLSE:WCEHB), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Public companies, on the other hand, account for 27% of the company's stockholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of WCE Holdings Berhad, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for WCE Holdings Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About WCE Holdings Berhad?

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 WCE Holdings Berhad 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.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in WCE Holdings Berhad. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is IJM Corporation Berhad with 27% of shares outstanding. MWE Holdings Berhad is the second largest shareholder owning 26% of common stock, and United Frontiers Holdings Limited holds about 9.4% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of WCE Holdings Berhad

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in WCE Holdings Berhad. It has a market capitalization of just RM3.0b, and insiders have RM265m worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 24% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over WCE Holdings Berhad. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 37%, of the WCE Holdings Berhad stock. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 27% of the WCE Holdings Berhad shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - WCE Holdings Berhad has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.