Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in ANE (Cayman) indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in ANE (Cayman) Inc. (HKG:9956) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 42% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, individual investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$7.8b market cap following a 9.1% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about ANE (Cayman).

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ANE (Cayman)?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Institutions have a very small stake in ANE (Cayman). That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in ANE (Cayman). The company's largest shareholder is Centurium Capital Management Ltd., with ownership of 25%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.3% and 4.7% of the stock. Furthermore, CEO Xinghua Qin is the owner of 3.0% of the company's shares.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 ANE (Cayman)

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in ANE (Cayman) Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own HK$509m worth of the HK$7.8b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 42% stake in ANE (Cayman). While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 25%, private equity firms could influence the ANE (Cayman) board. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 23%, of the ANE (Cayman) stock. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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