The big shareholder groups in Hans Energy Company Limited (HKG:554) have power over the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Warren Buffett said that he likes "a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people." So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.
With a market capitalization of HK$1.5b, Hans Energy is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are not on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hans Energy.
Check out our latest analysis for Hans Energy
What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hans Energy?
Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.
There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Hans Energy might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.
Hans Energy is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is David An (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 71% 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.
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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.
Insider Ownership Of Hans Energy
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.
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.
It seems that insiders own more than half the Hans Energy Company Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. So they have a HK$1.1b stake in this HK$1.5b business. 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, with a 29% stake in the company, will not 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.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hans Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Hans Energy (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this 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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About SEHK:554
Hans Energy
An investment holding company, provides terminal, jetties, storage tanks, and warehousing and logistic services for petroleum, liquid chemical, and gas products in the People’s Republic of China.
Excellent balance sheet and overvalued.