To get a sense of who is truly in control of Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (NSE:IBULHSGFIN), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 42% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 37% came under pressure after market cap dropped to ₹57b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Indiabulls Housing Finance.

Before we look at the ownership breakdown, you might like to know that our analysis indicates that IBULHSGFIN is potentially undervalued!

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 Indiabulls Housing Finance 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. 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 Indiabulls Housing Finance, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Indiabulls Housing Finance is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Life Insurance Corporation of India, Asset Management Arm with 9.2% of shares outstanding. With 6.2% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Inuus Infrastructure Private Limited and Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited., Employees Welfare Trust are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Gagan Banga is the owner of 0.8% of the company's shares.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 16 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited. In their own names, insiders own ₹4.3b worth of stock in the ₹57b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

With a 42% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Indiabulls Housing Finance. 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.

It seems that Private Companies own 8.6%, of the Indiabulls Housing Finance 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.

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Indiabulls Housing Finance (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. 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.

Find out whether Indiabulls Housing Finance 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.

Simply Wall St's Editorial Team provides unbiased, factual reporting on global stocks using in-depth fundamental analysis. Find out more about our editorial guidelines and team.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a housing finance company.

The Snowflake is a visual investment summary with the score of each axis being calculated by 6 checks in 5 areas.

Read more about these checks in the individual report sections or in our analysis model.

Second-rate dividend payer and slightly overvalued.

Simply Wall St's Editorial Team provides unbiased, factual reporting on global stocks using in-depth fundamental analysis. Find out more about our editorial guidelines and team.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a housing finance company.

The Snowflake is a visual investment summary with the score of each axis being calculated by 6 checks in 5 areas.

Read more about these checks in the individual report sections or in our analysis model.

Second-rate dividend payer and slightly overvalued.

Simply Wall Street Pty Ltd (ACN 600 056 611), is a Corporate Authorised Representative (Authorised Representative Number: 467183) of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 337927). Any advice contained in this website is general advice only and has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should not rely on any advice and/or information contained in this website and before making any investment decision we recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your situation and seek appropriate financial, taxation and legal advice. Please read our Financial Services Guide before deciding whether to obtain financial services from us.