Key Insights

• Sangfor Technologies' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Institutions own 15% of Sangfor Technologies

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Sangfor Technologies Inc. (SZSE:300454), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 46% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As market cap fell to CN¥26b last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sangfor Technologies?

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.

We can see that Sangfor Technologies does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Sangfor Technologies' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Sangfor Technologies. The company's CEO Chaoxi He is the largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 18% and 8.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Note that two of the top three shareholders are also Senior Key Executive and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively, once again pointing to significant ownership by company insiders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company's shares which essentially means that there is concentrated ownership amongst the top shareholders, most of whom happen to be insiders!

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 Sangfor Technologies

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

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Sangfor Technologies Inc.. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful CN¥12b stake in this CN¥26b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 39% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sangfor Technologies. 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:

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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Sangfor Technologies (1 can't be ignored) that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.