iHuman Inc. (NYSE:IH) Top Key Executive Yufeng Chi, the company's largest shareholder sees 12%reduction in holdings value

Key Insights

• iHuman's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 56% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Yufeng Chi)
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of iHuman Inc. (NYSE:IH), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 71% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 12%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of iHuman.

Check out our latest analysis for iHuman

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About iHuman?

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. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. 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 iHuman, for yourself, below.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in iHuman. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Yufeng Chi (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 56% 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. The second and third largest shareholders are Peng Dai and Liang Tian, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 6.2%. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Peng Dai is also Chief Executive Officer, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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 iHuman

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 iHuman Inc.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own US$103m worth of shares in the US$144m company. That's quite meaningful. 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 28% stake in iHuman. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 iHuman is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.