Key Insights

• Man Wah Holdings' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The largest shareholder of the company is Man Li Wong with a 62% stake
• Institutional ownership in Man Wah Holdings is 15%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Man Wah Holdings Limited (HKG:1999), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 63% 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, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$17b market cap following a 4.3% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Man Wah Holdings.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Man Wah Holdings?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Man Wah Holdings. 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. 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 Man Wah Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Man Wah Holdings. With a 62% stake, CEO Man Li Wong is the largest shareholder. This implies that they possess majority interests and have significant control over the company. Investors usually consider it a good sign when the company leadership has such a significant stake, as this is widely perceived to increase the chance that the management will act in the best interests of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 1.7% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.5% 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Man Wah Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

It seems that insiders own more than half the Man Wah Holdings Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means insiders have a very meaningful HK$11b stake in this HK$17b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to discover if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 22% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Man Wah Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Man Wah Holdings you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.