Key Insights

• Dah Sing Financial Holdings' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• 26% of Dah Sing Financial Holdings is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited (HKG:440), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 44% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 7.1% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Dah Sing Financial Holdings.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dah Sing Financial Holdings?

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.

Dah Sing Financial Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Dah Sing Financial Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Dah Sing Financial Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Shou-Yeh Wong, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 43%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 10.0% and 5.6% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Dah Sing Financial Holdings

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited. Insiders own HK$3.0b worth of shares in the HK$6.9b company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 30% stake in Dah Sing Financial Holdings. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Dah Sing Financial Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Dah Sing Financial Holdings you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.