Individual investors own 16% of Southern Acids (M) Berhad (KLSE:SAB) shares but private companies control 58% of the company

Key Insights Significant control over Southern Acids (M) Berhad by private companies implies that the general public...

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Key Insights Significant control over Southern Acids (M) Berhad by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions 51% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders If you want to know who really controls Southern Acids (M) Berhad ( ), 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 58% to be precise, is private companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 16% of the company's stockholders. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Southern Acids (M) Berhad, beginning with the chart below. 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. Southern Acids (M) Berhad already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company.

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.

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 Southern Acids (M) Berhad, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Southern Acids (M) Berhad. Southern Palm Industries Sdn Bhd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 31% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 8.

4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Lembaga Tabung Haji, Endowment Arm and Southern Realty (M) Sdn Bhd are the second and third largest shareholders. After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions. 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known. 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. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Southern Acids (M) Berhad.

Insiders have a RM66m stake in this RM438m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Southern Acids (M) Berhad.

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. It seems that Private Companies own 58%, of the Southern Acids (M) Berhad 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. It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company.

But to understand Southern Acids (M) Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the . Of course, So take a peek at this.