Key Insights

• Significant control over Spring Airlines by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is China Spring Group with a 52% stake
• 18% of Spring Airlines is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Spring Airlines Co., Ltd. (SHSE:601021), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, private companies endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.2%.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Spring Airlines?

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 Spring Airlines does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Spring Airlines' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Spring Airlines. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China Spring Group with 52% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 3.0% of common stock, and Zhong Ou Fund Management Co., Ltd holds about 2.4% of the company stock.

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

Insider Ownership Of Spring Airlines

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 25% stake in Spring Airlines. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 57%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Spring Airlines better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Spring Airlines .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.