If you want to know who really controls Regional Express Holdings Limited (ASX:REX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

With a market capitalization of AU$157m, Regional Express Holdings is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have not yet purchased shares. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Regional Express Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for Regional Express Holdings  ownership-breakdown

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Regional Express Holdings?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Regional Express Holdings might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely. earnings-and-revenue-growth

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Regional Express Holdings. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Regional Express Holdings' case, its Top Key Executive, Kim Lim, is the largest shareholder, holding 22% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.7% by the third-largest shareholder.



On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 8 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Regional Express Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Regional Express Holdings Limited. Insiders own AU$78m worth of shares in the AU$157m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can  click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 46% stake in Regional Express 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

We can see that Private Companies own 3.7%, of the shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Regional Express Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Regional Express Holdings that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies.

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.