Retail investors in Zhejiang Jingu Company Limited (SZSE:002488) are its biggest bettors, and their bets paid off as stock gained 5.4% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Zhejiang Jingu by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insider ownership in Zhejiang Jingu is 18%

A look at the shareholders of Zhejiang Jingu Company Limited (SZSE:002488) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, retail investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 5.4% gain.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Zhejiang Jingu, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Zhejiang Jingu

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhejiang Jingu?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Zhejiang Jingu. 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. 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 Zhejiang Jingu's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Zhejiang Jingu. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Feng Feng Sun with 11% of shares outstanding. Jin Guo Sun is the second largest shareholder owning 5.4% of common stock, and Hefei Industrial Investment Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. holds about 5.3% of the company stock.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 12 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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.

Insider Ownership Of Zhejiang Jingu

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Zhejiang Jingu Company Limited. Insiders own CN¥1.9b worth of shares in the CN¥10b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Zhejiang Jingu. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.3% stake in Zhejiang Jingu. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 21%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Zhejiang Jingu you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit unpleasant.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.