Key Insights

• Kingboard Holdings' significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 2 shareholders own 60% of the company
• Insiders have been buying lately

If you want to know who really controls Kingboard Holdings Limited (HKG:148), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 44% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 3.4% increase in the stock price last week, private companies profited the most, but institutions who own 28% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kingboard Holdings?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Kingboard Holdings. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Kingboard Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Kingboard Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Hallgain Management Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 44% of shares outstanding. With 17% and 2.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, FMR LLC and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Wing Yiu Chang, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 60% stake.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Kingboard Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Kingboard Holdings Limited. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own HK$518m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 25% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 44%, of the shares on issue. 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:

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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Kingboard Holdings (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

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.