Individual investors who hold 55% of Offcn Education Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002607) gained 6.5%, insiders profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Offcn Education Technology indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 45% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders own 25% of Offcn Education Technology

If you want to know who really controls Offcn Education Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002607), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 55% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 6.5% price gain, insiders also received a 25% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Offcn Education Technology.

Check out our latest analysis for Offcn Education Technology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Offcn Education Technology?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Offcn Education Technology already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Offcn Education Technology's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Offcn Education Technology. Our data shows that Yongxin Li is the largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. Zhendong Wang is the second largest shareholder owning 7.5% of common stock, and Hunan Chasing Fund Management Co., Ltd holds about 5.0% of the company stock. Zhendong Wang, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 Offcn Education Technology

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Offcn Education Technology Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥4.8b worth of shares in the CN¥19b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 55% stake in Offcn Education Technology, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 5.0%, private equity firms could influence the Offcn Education Technology board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Offcn Education Technology , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.