If you want to know who really controls Hopson Development Holdings Limited (HKG:754), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 74% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$2.4b last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hopson Development Holdings.

See our latest analysis for Hopson Development Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hopson Development Holdings?

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 Hopson Development Holdings 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 Hopson Development Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hopson Development Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Mang Yee Chu with 54% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 18% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.5% by the third-largest shareholder.

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

Insider Ownership Of Hopson Development Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 own more than half of Hopson Development Holdings Limited. This gives them effective control of the company. That means insiders have a very meaningful HK$21b stake in this HK$28b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hopson Development Holdings. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hopson Development Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Hopson Development Holdings that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.