A look at the shareholders of Confidence Intelligence Holdings Limited (HKG:1967) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 65% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And our data suggests that insiders own the top position in the company's share registry despite recent sales. As a result, the group bore the brunt of last week's HK$413m market cap loss.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Confidence Intelligence Holdings.

View our latest analysis for Confidence Intelligence Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Confidence Intelligence 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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Confidence Intelligence Holdings, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

Confidence Intelligence Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Hao Li with 40% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 14% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 11% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Bizhong Zhang is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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 54% stake.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Confidence Intelligence 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Confidence Intelligence Holdings Limited. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of HK$9.0b, that means insiders have a whopping HK$5.8b worth of shares in their own names. 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 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Confidence Intelligence 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 5.1%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Confidence Intelligence Holdings (1 is potentially serious) that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.