Private companies among China Tourism Group Duty Free Corporation Limited's (SHSE:601888) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 5.4% price drop

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in China Tourism Group Duty Free indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 50% of the company is held by a single shareholder (China Tourism Group Corporation Limited)
• 16% of China Tourism Group Duty Free is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls China Tourism Group Duty Free Corporation Limited (SHSE:601888), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, private companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CN¥10b.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about China Tourism Group Duty Free.

See our latest analysis for China Tourism Group Duty Free

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About China Tourism Group Duty Free?

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.

We can see that China Tourism Group Duty Free 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. 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 China Tourism Group Duty Free'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 China Tourism Group Duty Free. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China Tourism Group Corporation Limited with 50% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 2.8% and 1.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, China Securities Finance Corp, Asset Management Arm and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 China Tourism Group Duty Free

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 33% stake in China Tourism Group Duty Free. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 50%, of the China Tourism Group Duty Free stock. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with China Tourism Group Duty Free .

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.

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.