Trina Solar Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688599) insiders have significant skin in the game with 33% ownership

Key Insights

• Trina Solar's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Institutions own 14% of Trina Solar

Every investor in Trina Solar Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688599) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 33% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

So, insiders of Trina Solar have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.

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

View our latest analysis for Trina Solar

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Trina Solar?

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.

Trina Solar 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. 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 Trina Solar, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Trina Solar is not owned by hedge funds. The company's CEO Jifan Gao is the largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 5.7% of the stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 54% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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 Trina Solar

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Trina Solar Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥47b, and insiders have CN¥15b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 24% 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 Equity Ownership

With a stake of 11%, private equity firms could influence the Trina Solar board. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 18%, of the Trina Solar 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:

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 Trina Solar is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.