Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Himax Technologies indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 45% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Himax Technologies is 29%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX), 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 52% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While insiders who own 29% came under pressure after market cap dropped to US$1.3b last week,retail investors took the most losses.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Himax Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Himax Technologies?

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.

We can see that Himax Technologies does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Himax Technologies, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Himax Technologies. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Biing-Seng Wu (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 22% 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. With 6.5% and 3.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Whei-Lan Teng and Acadian Asset Management LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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

Insider Ownership Of Himax Technologies

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Himax Technologies, Inc.. Insiders own US$380m worth of shares in the US$1.3b company. That's quite meaningful. 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 52% of Himax Technologies shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Himax Technologies .

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.