Do Institutions Own Hsing Ta Cement Company Limited (TPE:1109) Shares?

The big shareholder groups in Hsing Ta Cement Company Limited (TPE:1109) have power over the company. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

Hsing Ta Cement is a smaller company with a market capitalization of NT$6.3b, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Hsing Ta Cement.

View our latest analysis for Hsing Ta Cement

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hsing Ta Cement?

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 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. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Hsing Ta Cement 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 Hsing Ta Cement. Chung-Hsiung Yang is currently the company's largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ren-Xiong Yang and Zhi-Xiong Yang are the second and third largest shareholders. Zhi-Xiong Yang, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

Our studies suggest that the top 15 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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

Insider Ownership Of Hsing Ta Cement

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Hsing Ta Cement Company Limited. It has a market capitalization of just NT$6.3b, and insiders have NT$2.7b worth of shares in their own names. I 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, who are mostly retail investors, collectively hold 52% of Hsing Ta Cement shares. This size of ownership gives retail investors collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 4.5%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Hsing Ta Cement you should be aware of.

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.

If you decide to trade Hsing Ta Cement, use the lowest-cost* platform that is rated #1 Overall by Barron’s, Interactive Brokers. Trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds on 135 markets, all from a single integrated account. Promoted

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.