Key Insights

• Significant control over Hope Education Group by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• 18% of Hope Education Group is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hope Education Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:1765), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 42% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$4.7b market cap following a 9.6% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hope Education Group.

See our latest analysis for Hope Education Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hope Education Group?

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 Hope Education Group. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Hope Education Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hope Education Group is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Hope Education Investment Limited, with ownership of 42%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 3.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.4% by the third-largest shareholder.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of Hope Education Group

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that Hope Education Group Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than HK$9.7m worth of shares in the HK$4.7b company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 39% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hope Education Group. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 42%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Hope Education Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.