Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in Dah Sing Banking Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited owns 74% 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 Dah Sing Banking Group Limited (HKG:2356), 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 public companies with 74% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, public companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by HK$436m.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Dah Sing Banking Group.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dah Sing Banking Group?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Dah Sing Banking Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Dah Sing Banking Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Dah Sing Banking Group is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Dah Sing Financial Holdings Limited with 74% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 2.8% and 1.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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. 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 Banking Group

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.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Dah Sing Banking Group Limited in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own HK$33m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Dah Sing Banking Group. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 74% of the Dah Sing Banking Group shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - Dah Sing Banking Group has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.