CIFI Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd.'s (HKG:884) last week's 11% decline must have disappointed retail investors who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Significant control over CIFI Holdings (Group) by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

A look at the shareholders of CIFI Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd. (HKG:884) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 43% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, retail investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 11%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of CIFI Holdings (Group), beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for CIFI Holdings (Group)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CIFI Holdings (Group)?

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.

CIFI Holdings (Group) already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at CIFI Holdings (Group)'s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in CIFI Holdings (Group). Our data shows that Rosy Fortune Investments Limited is the largest shareholder with 26% of shares outstanding. Sun Success Trust is the second largest shareholder owning 13% of common stock, and Wei Lin holds about 6.9% of the company stock. Wei Lin, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Vice Chairman.

On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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 CIFI Holdings (Group)

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in CIFI Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just HK$2.4b, and insiders have HK$226m worth of shares, in their own names. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in CIFI Holdings (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

We can see that Private Companies own 39%, of the shares on issue. 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Be aware that CIFI Holdings (Group) is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those can't be ignored...

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.