Every investor in CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited (HKG:1038) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 76% to be precise, is public companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 18% of the company's stockholders.

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

View our latest analysis for CK Infrastructure Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CK Infrastructure 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 CK Infrastructure 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. 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 CK Infrastructure 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 CK Infrastructure Holdings. CK Hutchison Holdings Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 76% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 1.2% and 0.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Lazard Asset Management LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

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

Insider Ownership Of CK Infrastructure 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.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own HK$14m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 18% 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 76% of CK Infrastructure Holdings stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand CK Infrastructure Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - CK Infrastructure Holdings has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

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.