Key Insights
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 36% 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.
As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.8% gain.
Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of Futu Holdings, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for Futu Holdings
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Futu Holdings?
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.
Futu Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Futu Holdings’ earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in Futu Holdings. The company’s CEO Hua Li is the largest shareholder with 36% of shares outstanding. Tencent Holdings Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 22% of common stock, and Morgan Stanley, Investment Banking and Brokerage Investments holds about 3.3% of the company stock.
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 58% stake.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Futu Holdings
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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Futu Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just US$5.9b, and insiders have US$2.1b worth of shares in their own names. That’s quite significant. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.
General Public Ownership
The general public– including retail investors — own 16% 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
It appears to us that public companies own 22% of Futu Holdings. 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 Futu Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors.
I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
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.
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