Public companies are Fuji Oil Holdings Inc.'s (TSE:2607) biggest owners and were rewarded after market cap rose by JP¥13b last week

Simply Wall St · 08/31 23:28

Key Insights

  • Significant control over Fuji Oil Holdings by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
  • A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
  • Institutions own 18% of Fuji Oil Holdings

Every investor in Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. (TSE:2607) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 44% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit JP¥276b market cap following a 4.8% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Fuji Oil Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Fuji Oil Holdings

ownership-breakdown
TSE:2607 Ownership Breakdown August 31st 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fuji Oil Holdings?

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.

Fuji Oil Holdings 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 Fuji Oil Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
TSE:2607 Earnings and Revenue Growth August 31st 2024

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Fuji Oil Holdings. Our data shows that ITOCHU Corporation is the largest shareholder with 44% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 2.5% and 2.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. 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 Fuji Oil Holdings

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.

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 Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around JP¥260m worth of shares (at current prices). 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 34% stake in Fuji Oil Holdings. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 3.0%, of the Fuji Oil Holdings stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 44% of Fuji Oil Holdings. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Fuji Oil Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Fuji Oil Holdings (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.