While institutions own 28% of Kuaishou Technology (HKG:1024), individual investors are its largest shareholders with 36% ownership

Key Insights

• Kuaishou Technology's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 10 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders own 19% of Kuaishou Technology

If you want to know who really controls Kuaishou Technology (HKG:1024), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 36% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 28% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Kuaishou Technology.

View our latest analysis for Kuaishou Technology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kuaishou Technology?

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 Kuaishou Technology does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Kuaishou Technology's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Kuaishou Technology is not owned by hedge funds. Tencent Holdings Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 16% of shares outstanding. With 9.9% and 8.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Hua Su and Yixiao Cheng are the second and third largest shareholders. Two of the top three shareholders happen to be Top Key Executive and Chairman of the Board, respectively. That is, insiders feature higher up in the heirarchy of the company's top shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 10 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Kuaishou Technology

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Kuaishou Technology. Insiders own HK$44b worth of shares in the HK$227b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kuaishou Technology. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 16% of the Kuaishou Technology shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Kuaishou Technology better, we need to consider many other factors.

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 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.