Do Institutions Own Emperor Capital Group Limited (HKG:717) Shares?

Every investor in Emperor Capital Group Limited (HKG:717) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. We also tend to see lower insider ownership in companies that were previously publicly owned.

Emperor Capital Group is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of HK$998m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Emperor Capital Group.

View our latest analysis for Emperor Capital Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Emperor Capital Group?

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.

Emperor Capital Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Emperor Capital Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Emperor Capital Group is not owned by hedge funds. The Albert Yeung Discretionary Trust is currently the company's largest shareholder with 43% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.1% and 8.2% of the stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

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. As far I can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Emperor Capital Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 information suggests that Emperor Capital Group Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It appears that the board holds about HK$3.8m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of HK$998m. I generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public holds a 36% stake in Emperor Capital Group. 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 43%, of the Emperor Capital Group stock. 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 Emperor Capital Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Emperor Capital Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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