Scholar Education Group's (HKG:1769) market cap dropped HK$372m last week; Individual investors bore the brunt

Key Insights

• Significant control over Scholar Education Group by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 5 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Insider ownership in Scholar Education Group is 41%

If you want to know who really controls Scholar Education Group (HKG:1769), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While the holdings of individual investors took a hit after last week’s 11% price drop, insiders with their 41% also suffered.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Scholar Education Group.

View our latest analysis for Scholar Education Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Scholar Education Group?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Scholar Education Group. 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 Scholar Education Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Scholar Education Group. Our data suggests that Qiyuan Chen, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 39%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. With 4.0% and 4.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, CRE Alliance Fund Management Company Limited and BNY Asset Management are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Mingzhi Qi is the owner of 2.3% of the company's shares.

On looking further, we found that 52% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Scholar Education Group

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 a reasonable proportion of Scholar Education Group. It has a market capitalization of just HK$3.0b, and insiders have HK$1.2b worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 47% 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.

Next Steps:

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

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.