A HK$4.1b drop in the market cap of Shenzhou International Group Holdings Limited (HKG:2313) is not what insiders like to see after purchasing shares recently

Key Insights

• Shenzhou International Group Holdings' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 3 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders have bought recently

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A look at the shareholders of Shenzhou International Group Holdings Limited (HKG:2313) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 42% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

It's interesting to note that insiders have been buying shares recently. Their expectations, however, were not satisfied, as the market cap dropped to HK$85b over the past week.

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

See our latest analysis for Shenzhou International Group Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shenzhou International Group Holdings?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Shenzhou International Group 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. 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 Shenzhou International Group Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shenzhou International Group Holdings. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Jianrong Ma (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 42% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. With 4.9% and 2.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Fairco Group Limited and Schroder Investment Management (Hong Kong) Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 50% stake.

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 Shenzhou International Group Holdings

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Shenzhou International Group Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just HK$85b, and insiders have HK$36b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 23% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.9%, of the Shenzhou International Group 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 Shenzhou International Group Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Shenzhou International Group Holdings is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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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.