China Qidian Guofeng Holdings Limited's (HKG:1280) largest shareholder, Top Key Executive Li Yuan sees holdings value fall by 12% following recent drop

Key Insights

• China Qidian Guofeng Holdings' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 55% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in China Qidian Guofeng Holdings Limited (HKG:1280) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And following last week's 12% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of China Qidian Guofeng Holdings.

See our latest analysis for China Qidian Guofeng Holdings

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About China Qidian Guofeng Holdings?

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

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. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. 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 China Qidian Guofeng Holdings, for yourself, below.

China Qidian Guofeng Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Li Yuan, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 18%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 17% and 11%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 55% 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 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of China Qidian Guofeng Holdings

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

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in China Qidian Guofeng Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just HK$5.3b, and insiders have HK$2.3b worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 38%, of the China Qidian Guofeng Holdings stock. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand China Qidian Guofeng Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with China Qidian Guofeng Holdings (including 2 which are potentially serious) .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.