City Developments Limited's (SGX:C09) market cap surged S$284m last week, private companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

In This Article:

Key Insights

  • Significant control over City Developments by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions

  • Hong Leong Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd. owns 54% of the company

  • Institutions own 16% of City Developments

Every investor in City Developments Limited (SGX:C09) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 59% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by S$284m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of City Developments.

View our latest analysis for City Developments

ownership-breakdown
ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About City Developments?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in City Developments. 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 City Developments' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

City Developments is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Hong Leong Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd., with ownership of 54%. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.1% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 2.2% of the company stock.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of City Developments

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.