Nanjing Securities Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:601990) top owners are private companies with 49% stake, while 42% is held by individual investors

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Nanjing Securities indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 51% of the business is held by the top 8 shareholders
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Nanjing Securities Co., Ltd. (SHSE:601990) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 49% stake, private companies 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.

And individual investors on the other hand have a 42% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Nanjing Securities.

View our latest analysis for Nanjing Securities

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nanjing Securities?

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.

We can see that Nanjing Securities does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Nanjing Securities' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Nanjing Securities. Nanjing Zijin Investment Group Co.,Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 24% of shares outstanding. Nanjing New Industrial Investment Group Co.,Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.0% of common stock, and Nanjing Communications Construction & Investment Holdings(Group)Company Limited holds about 6.5% of the company stock.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Nanjing Securities

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 42% 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 49%, of the Nanjing Securities stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Nanjing Securities (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.