To get a sense of who is truly in control of Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE:STG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion’s share in the company with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company’s market cap rose by US$49m last week.
Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Sunlands Technology Group.
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.
Less than 5% of Sunlands Technology Group is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.
NYSE:STG Earnings and Revenue Growth July 12th 2025
Sunlands Technology Group is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Sunlands Technology Group’s case, its Top Key Executive, Peng Ou, is the largest shareholder, holding 42% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 8.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Primavera Capital Group and New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Tongbo Liu is the owner of 7.6% of the company’s shares.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company’s shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company’s decisions.
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. We’re not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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 own more than half of Sunlands Technology Group. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a US$51m stake in this US$101m business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
The general public– including retail investors — own 24% stake in the company, and hence can’t easily be ignored. While this group can’t necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
With an ownership of 12%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. 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.
We can see that public companies hold 8.3% of the Sunlands Technology Group shares on issue. 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.
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Sunlands Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we’ve spotted with Sunlands Technology Group .
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.
