Shanghai Conant Optical Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2276) last week's 6.7% decline must have disappointed individual investors who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Shanghai Conant Optical's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• 50% of Shanghai Conant Optical is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Shanghai Conant Optical Co., Ltd. (HKG:2276), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 6.7% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 50% stock also took a hit.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Shanghai Conant Optical.

View our latest analysis for Shanghai Conant Optical

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Conant Optical?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Shanghai Conant Optical, for yourself, below.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Shanghai Conant Optical. With a 50% stake, CEO Zhengxiang Fei is the largest shareholder. American Century Investment Management Inc is the second largest shareholder owning 0.05% of common stock, and ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., Ltd. holds about 0.02% of the company stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 6 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Shanghai Conant Optical

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Shanghai Conant Optical Co., Ltd.. Insiders own HK$3.0b worth of shares in the HK$5.9b company. 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 50% of Shanghai Conant Optical shares. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.