Individual investors who have a significant stake must be disappointed along with institutions after Shin Zu Shing Co., Ltd.'s (TWSE:3376) market cap dropped by NT$1.7b

Key Insights

• Shin Zu Shing's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 16 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insider ownership in Shin Zu Shing is 23%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Shin Zu Shing Co., Ltd. (TWSE:3376), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% 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).

While institutions who own 31% came under pressure after market cap dropped to NT$36b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Shin Zu Shing, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Shin Zu Shing

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shin Zu Shing?

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 Shin Zu Shing 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. 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 Shin Zu Shing's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shin Zu Shing. Our data shows that Min-Wen Lu is the largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.1% and 3.2% of the stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 16 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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 Shin Zu Shing

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Shin Zu Shing Co., Ltd.. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful NT$8.3b stake in this NT$36b business. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 44% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Shin Zu Shing. 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Shin Zu Shing you should know about.

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.