Private companies among Longhorn Auto Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:301488) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 27% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Longhorn Auto by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 55% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• 19% of Longhorn Auto is held by insiders

Every investor in Longhorn Auto Co., Ltd. (SZSE:301488) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥1.2b last week.

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

View our latest analysis for Longhorn Auto

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Longhorn Auto?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Longhorn Auto. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. 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.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Longhorn Auto. Our data shows that China Security & Surveillance Technology, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 36% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 7.6% of the stock. Xiaoping Luo, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 Longhorn Auto

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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 Longhorn Auto Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥5.6b, and insiders have CN¥1.1b worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 21% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Longhorn Auto. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 53%, of the shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Longhorn Auto better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Longhorn Auto is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.