Key Insights

• Flat Glass Group's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 6 shareholders own 51% of the company
• 26% of Flat Glass Group is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Flat Glass Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:6865) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 52% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$1.1b last week.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Flat Glass Group.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Flat Glass Group?

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.

Flat Glass Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Flat Glass Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Flat Glass Group is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Hongliang Ruan with 17% of shares outstanding. Zeyun Ruan is the second largest shareholder owning 15% of common stock, and Jinhua Jiang holds about 14% of the company stock. Note that two of the top three shareholders are also President and Vice Chairman, respectively, once again pointing to significant ownership by company insiders.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Flat Glass Group

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 that insiders own more than half the Flat Glass Group Co., Ltd. stock. This gives them a lot of power. Given it has a market cap of HK$43b, that means insiders have a whopping HK$23b worth of shares in their own names. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 22% stake in Flat Glass Group. 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. Take risks for example - Flat Glass Group has 3 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think 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.

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