Institutional Ownership
Institutional investors transact in large blocks which can influence the momentum of stock prices, at least in the short-term, especially when there is a low level of public shares available on the market to trade. The company hardly has institutions in its ownership structure, indicating limited concern for investors to worry about potential sell-offs that could arise due to extensive liquidation.
Insider Ownership
Another important group of shareholders are company insiders. Insider ownership has to do more with how the company is managed and less to do with the direct impact of the magnitude of shares trading on the market. BOC insiders hold a minor stake in the company, which somewhat aligns their interests with that of shareholders. However, a higher level of insider ownership has been linked to management executing on high-returning projects instead of expansion projects for the sake of apparent growth. In addition to this, it may be interesting to look at insider buying and selling activities. Keep in mind that buying may be sign of upbeat future expectations, but selling doesn’t necessarily mean the opposite as the insiders might just be doing it out of their personal financial needs.
General Public Ownership
A substantial ownership of 25.27% in BOC is held by the general public. With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in major company policies that affect shareholders returns, including executive remuneration and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.
Private Company Ownership
Potential investors in BOC should also look at another important group of investors: private companies, with a stake of 54.73%, who are primarily invested because of strategic and capital gain interests. With this size of ownership in BOC, this ownership class can affect the company’s business strategy. As a result, potential investors should further explore the company’s business relations with these companies and find out if they can affect shareholder returns in the long-term.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? Institutional ownership level and composition in BOC is not high nor active enough to significantly impact its investment thesis. If you’re looking to diversify your holdings with high-quality stocks, our free analysis platform has a selection of high-quality stocks with a strong growth potential.
Are you a potential investor? Ownership structure should not be the only focus of your research when constructing an investment thesis around BOC. Rather, you should be examining fundamental factors like the intrinsic valuation of BOC, which is a key driver of BOC’s share price. Take a look at our most recent infographic report on BOC for a more in-depth analysis of these factors to help you make a more well-informed investment decision.
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.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.