Noah Holdings Limited's (NYSE:NOAH) most bullish insider, Top Key Executive Jingbo Wang must be pleased with the recent 10% gain

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Noah Holdings implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 5 shareholders own 54% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Noah Holdings is 30%

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A look at the shareholders of Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE:NOAH) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 38% to be precise, is individual insiders. 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, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit US$740m market cap following a 10% gain in the stock.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Noah Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Noah 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.

Noah 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 Noah Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 10% of Noah Holdings. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Jingbo Wang (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 21% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 10% of the stock. Furthermore, CEO Zhe Yin is the owner of 5.1% of the company's shares.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Noah 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Noah Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just US$740m, and insiders have US$278m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Noah Holdings. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Noah Holdings has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think 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.