Vitasoy International Holdings Limited's (HKG:345) market cap touched HK$5.8b last week, benefiting both individual investors who own 45% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Vitasoy International Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 50% of the business is held by the top 16 shareholders
• 16% of Vitasoy International Holdings is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Vitasoy International Holdings Limited (HKG:345), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 45% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 15% price gain, institutions also received a 38% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Vitasoy International Holdings.

See our latest analysis for Vitasoy International Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Vitasoy International Holdings?

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.

Vitasoy International Holdings 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. 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 Vitasoy International Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Vitasoy International Holdings. The company's largest shareholder is First Sentier Investors (Australia) IM Ltd, with ownership of 11%. With 9.4% and 6.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Yau-lai Lo and K. S. Lo Foundation, Endowment Arm are the second and third largest shareholders. Yau-lai Lo, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive. In addition, we found that Roberto Guidetti, the CEO has 0.6% of the shares allocated to their name.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 16 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Vitasoy International Holdings

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Vitasoy International Holdings Limited. Insiders have a HK$943m stake in this HK$5.8b business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 45% 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 Vitasoy International Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.