Key Insights

• Dekon Food and Agriculture Group's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 4 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Dekon Food and Agriculture Group (HKG:2419), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

With such a notable stake in the company, insiders would be highly incentivised to make value accretive decisions.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Dekon Food and Agriculture Group.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dekon Food and Agriculture Group?

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.

Less than 5% of Dekon Food and Agriculture Group 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. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Dekon Food and Agriculture Group. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Degen Wang (who also holds the title of Senior Key Executive) with 34% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

On looking further, we found that 52% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Dekon Food and Agriculture Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Dekon Food and Agriculture Group. This gives them effective control of the company. That means insiders have a very meaningful HK$11b stake in this HK$21b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to discover if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 29% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 14%, 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 Dekon Food and Agriculture Group better, we need to consider many other factors.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com