EST Tools Co., Ltd's (SZSE:300488) market cap rose CN¥358m last week; private companies who hold 50% profited and so did insiders

Key Insights

• Significant control over EST Tools by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is EST Holdings Co., Ltd. with a 50% stake
• Insider ownership in EST Tools is 29%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of EST Tools Co., Ltd (SZSE:300488), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Private companies gained the most after market cap touched CN¥3.3b last week, while insiders who own 29% also benefitted.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of EST Tools, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for EST Tools

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About EST Tools?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in EST Tools. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in EST Tools. EST Holdings Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 50% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. The second and third largest shareholders are Er Rong Chen and Zi Yan Chen, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 8.9%. Zi Yan Chen, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 EST Tools

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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in EST Tools Co., Ltd. Insiders own CN¥944m worth of shares in the CN¥3.3b 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-- including retail investors -- own 20% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 50%, of the shares on issue. 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:

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. Be aware that EST Tools is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list 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.