Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:688701) last week's 15% decline must have disappointed retail investors who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• Insider ownership in Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech is 35%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688701), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 37% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 15% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 35% stock also took a hit.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech.

View our latest analysis for Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Institutions have a very small stake in Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech. 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 business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. 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 Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech. The company's CEO Weilong Zhuo is the largest shareholder with 35% of shares outstanding. With 15% and 5.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Hangzhou Gaoting Investment Management Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) and Zhong'an Runxin (Beijing) Venture Capital Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 55% stake.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech

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

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥765m, and insiders have CN¥266m 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 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 5.0%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 20%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Zhejiang Zone-King Environmental Sci&Tech that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this 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.