Insiders continue to buy Readboy Education Holding Company Limited (HKG:2385) and now own 71% shares

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Readboy Education Holding's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The top 2 shareholders own 66% of the company
• Insiders have bought recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Readboy Education Holding Company Limited (HKG:2385), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 71% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Having purchased shares recently, insiders must be glad after market cap hit HK$2.3b last week.

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

View our latest analysis for Readboy Education Holding

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Readboy Education Holding?

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 multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Readboy Education Holding might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

Readboy Education Holding is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Zhiyong Chen (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 36% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 30% and 7.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Shuguang Qin is also Chief Executive Officer, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Readboy Education Holding

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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders own more than half of Readboy Education Holding Company Limited. This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of HK$2.3b, that means they have HK$1.7b worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 22% stake in Readboy Education Holding. 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 7.5%, 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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Readboy Education Holding that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.