Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Dufu Technology Berhad implies vested interests in company growth

• The top 7 shareholders own 52% of the company

• Institutional ownership in Dufu Technology Berhad is 20%

A look at the shareholders of Dufu Technology Corp. Berhad (KLSE:DUFU) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 35% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of Dufu Technology Berhad regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Dufu Technology Berhad.

See our latest analysis for Dufu Technology Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dufu Technology Berhad?

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.

We can see that Dufu Technology Berhad does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Dufu Technology Berhad's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Dufu Technology Berhad is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Hui-Ta Lee (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 23% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.0% by the third-largest shareholder.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Dufu Technology Berhad

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Dufu Technology Corp. Berhad. Insiders own RM331m worth of shares in the RM948m company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Dufu Technology Berhad. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 10.0%, of the Dufu Technology Berhad stock. 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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Dufu Technology Berhad (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.