Do Insiders Own Lots Of Shares In ITC Properties Group Limited (HKG:199)?

A look at the shareholders of ITC Properties Group Limited (HKG:199) can tell us which group is most powerful. 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.

ITC Properties Group is a smaller company with a market capitalization of HK$1.2b, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about ITC Properties Group.

See our latest analysis for ITC Properties Group

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ITC Properties Group?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. 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. ITC Properties Group might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in ITC Properties Group. Kwok Keung Chan is currently the largest shareholder, with 28% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 26% and 5.1% of the stock. Hon Kit Cheung, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 ITC Properties 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. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of ITC Properties Group Limited. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a HK$692m stake in this HK$1.2b business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 39% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over ITC Properties Group. 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:

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 ITC Properties Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those make us uncomfortable...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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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