Private companies among Xtep International Holdings Limited's (HKG:1368) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 12% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Xtep International Holdings by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 2 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Institutions own 18% of Xtep International Holdings

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Xtep International Holdings Limited (HKG:1368), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 49% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. 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 were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 12% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Xtep International Holdings.

View our latest analysis for Xtep International Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Xtep International Holdings?

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.

We can see that Xtep International Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Xtep International Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Xtep International Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Group Success Investments Limited with 49% of shares outstanding. With 3.6% and 2.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, China Universal Asset Management Company Ltd. and Shui Po Ding are the second and third largest shareholders. Shui Po Ding, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 Xtep International Holdings

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Xtep International Holdings Limited. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth HK$338m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 30% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Xtep International Holdings. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 49%, of the Xtep International Holdings 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Xtep International Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Xtep International Holdings you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

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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.