Individual investors own 30% of Avicopter Plc (SHSE:600038) shares but private companies control 57% of the company

Key Insights

• Avicopter's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 2 shareholders own 52% of the company
• 13% of Avicopter is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Avicopter Plc (SHSE:600038), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is private companies. 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 delve deeper into each type of owner of Avicopter, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Avicopter

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Avicopter?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that Avicopter does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Avicopter, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Avicopter. Our data shows that China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is the largest shareholder with 49% of shares outstanding. Guoxin Investment Co., Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 3.7% of common stock, and Aviation Industry Corporation of China,Ltd. holds about 2.6% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 Avicopter

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

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 note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 30% stake in Avicopter. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 57%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Avicopter has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.