Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Hillstone NetworksLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 52% of the business is held by the top 7 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Hillstone NetworksLtd is 10%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hillstone Networks Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:688030), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 38% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, retail investors as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CN¥483m.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hillstone NetworksLtd.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hillstone NetworksLtd?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Hillstone NetworksLtd, 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 business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hillstone NetworksLtd. Our data shows that Digital China Group Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 10.0% and 6.6% of the stock. Furthermore, CEO Dongping Luo is the owner of 2.4% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 7 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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

Insider Ownership Of Hillstone NetworksLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 insiders maintain a significant holding in Hillstone Networks Co.,Ltd.. Insiders have a CN¥202m stake in this CN¥2.0b business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hillstone NetworksLtd. 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.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 18%, private equity firms could influence the Hillstone NetworksLtd board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 6.5%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 22% of Hillstone NetworksLtd stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hillstone NetworksLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Hillstone NetworksLtd is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , 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.