Key Insights
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Farm Fresh Berhad's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
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57% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls Farm Fresh Berhad ( KLSE:FFB ), 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 private companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Meanwhile, institutions make up 40% of the company's shareholders. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Farm Fresh Berhad, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Farm Fresh Berhad
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Farm Fresh Berhad?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Farm Fresh Berhad. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Farm Fresh Berhad's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Farm Fresh Berhad. Rainforest Capital Sdn Bhd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 10%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 57% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.
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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Farm Fresh Berhad
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
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 Farm Fresh Berhad in their own names. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own RM26m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 41%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
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 .
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future .
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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.
