Key Insights
- Significant control over Ashok Leyland by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
- The top 7 shareholders own 51% of the company
- Institutional ownership in Ashok Leyland is 29%
If you want to know who really controls Ashok Leyland Limited (NSE:ASHOKLEY), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 40% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Meanwhile, individual investors make up 30% of the company’s shareholders.
Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ashok Leyland.
Check out our latest analysis for Ashok Leyland
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ashok Leyland?
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.
Ashok Leyland already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Ashok Leyland, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Ashok Leyland is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Hinduja Group Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 40% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 2.3% and 2.0% of the stock.
We did some more digging and found that 7 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Ashok Leyland
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our information suggests that Ashok Leyland Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. 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 ₹5.1m 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
With a 30% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ashok Leyland. 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
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 40%, of the company’s shares. 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 Ashok Leyland better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we’ve spotted with Ashok Leyland (including 2 which are significant) .
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.
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.
Valuation is complex, but we’re helping make it simple.
Find out whether Ashok Leyland is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.
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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.
