Retail investors are Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:600221) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped CN¥3.0b

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Hainan Airlines Holding indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600221) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 47% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. 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, retail investors as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CN¥3.0b.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hainan Airlines Holding.

Check out our latest analysis for Hainan Airlines Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hainan Airlines Holding?

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.

Hainan Airlines Holding 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 Hainan Airlines Holding's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hainan Airlines Holding is not owned by hedge funds. HNA Group Bankruptcy Reorganisation Specialised Service Trust is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.7% and 7.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 Hainan Airlines Holding

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd. in their own names. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own CN¥519m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 47% stake in Hainan Airlines Holding. 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 45%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hainan Airlines Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Hainan Airlines Holding (1 is concerning) that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.