Hengtai Securities Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1476) last week's 11% decline must have disappointed private companies who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Hengtai Securities' significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 3 shareholders own 59% of the company
• 20% of Hengtai Securities is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Hengtai Securities Co., Ltd. (HKG:1476) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 46% ownership. 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, private companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by HK$703m.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hengtai Securities.

See our latest analysis for Hengtai Securities

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hengtai Securities?

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 Hengtai Securities 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 Hengtai Securities' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hengtai Securities is not owned by hedge funds. Beijing Huarong Comprehensive Investment Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 30% of shares outstanding. TianFeng Securities Co., Ltd., Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 17% of common stock, and Baotou Huazi Industry Co., Ltd holds about 12% of the company stock.

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 59% stake.

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. 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 Hengtai Securities

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. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. We do not see this low level of ownership often, and it is possible our data is imperfect. But shareholders can click here to check if insiders have been selling stock.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 23% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 46%, of the company's shares. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 12% of the Hengtai Securities shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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 Hengtai Securities is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.