Individual investors among PRL Global Ltd.'s (ASX:PRG) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 11% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over PRL Global by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions

• A total of 11 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership

• Insider ownership in PRL Global is 29%

If you want to know who really controls PRL Global Ltd. (ASX:PRG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, individual investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by AU$16m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of PRL Global.

See our latest analysis for PRL Global

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About PRL Global?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. PRL Global might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in PRL Global. Keen Strategy Sdn Bhd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 10% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.3% by the third-largest shareholder. Lip Tee, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, CEO Ah Hong Lai is the owner of 2.2% of the company's shares.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 11 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. 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 PRL Global

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of PRL Global Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just AU$160m, and insiders have AU$47m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 41% stake in the company, and hence can't 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 30%, of the PRL Global stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand PRL Global better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for PRL Global (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) 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.