Private companies invested in Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600060) copped the brunt of last week's CN¥1.9b market cap decline

Key Insights

• Significant control over Hisense Visual Technology by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 52% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• 24% of Hisense Visual Technology is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600060) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CN¥1.9b.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hisense Visual Technology.

Check out our latest analysis for Hisense Visual Technology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hisense Visual Technology?

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.

Hisense Visual Technology already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Hisense Visual Technology's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hisense Visual Technology. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Hisense Group Holdings Co., Ltd. with 31% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 17% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.0% by the third-largest shareholder.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Hisense Visual Technology

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our information suggests that Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own CN¥61m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hisense Visual Technology. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 47%, 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. Take risks for example - Hisense Visual Technology has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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.

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