Key Insights

• Significant control over Chow Sang Sang Holdings International by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insiders own 18% of Chow Sang Sang Holdings International

If you want to know who really controls Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Limited (HKG:116), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 32% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$576m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Chow Sang Sang Holdings International, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Chow Sang Sang Holdings International?

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 Chow Sang Sang Holdings International does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Chow Sang Sang Holdings International's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Chow Sang Sang Holdings International. Everwin Company Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are King Sing Chow and Wun Sing Chow, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 9.1%. Two of the top three shareholders happen to be Senior Key Executive and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively. That is, insiders feature higher up in the heirarchy of the company's top shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Chow Sang Sang Holdings International

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Limited. Insiders have a HK$1.2b stake in this HK$6.6b business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 32% stake in Chow Sang Sang Holdings International. 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 30%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Chow Sang Sang Holdings International better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Chow Sang Sang Holdings International has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.