Abacus Property Group's (ASX:ABP) top owners are private companies with 52% stake, while 35% is held by individual investors
Key Insights
Abacus Property Group's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
Guardian Trust Company Limited owns 52% of the company
A look at the shareholders of Abacus Property Group (ASX:ABP) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 52% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And individual investors on the other hand have a 35% ownership in the company.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Abacus Property Group.
View our latest analysis for Abacus Property Group
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Abacus Property 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.
We can see that Abacus Property 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. 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 Abacus Property Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Abacus Property Group. Guardian Trust Company Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 52% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 3.0% and 1.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Myra Salkinder are the second and third largest shareholders. Myra Salkinder, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
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. 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 Abacus Property 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.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Abacus Property Group. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth AU$46m. Most would see this as a real positive. Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 35% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Abacus Property Group. 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
It seems that Private Companies own 52%, of the Abacus Property Group 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.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Abacus Property Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Abacus Property Group (2 make us uncomfortable) that you should be aware of.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
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