Dezhou United Petroleum Technology Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:301158) last week's 13% decline must have disappointed retail investors who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Significant control over Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

A look at the shareholders of Dezhou United Petroleum Technology Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:301158) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, retail investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 13%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd.

See our latest analysis for Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd?

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 Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd is not owned by hedge funds. Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 45% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 1.4% and 1.3% of the stock. Guihua Cheng, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd

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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Dezhou United Petroleum Technology Co.,Ltd.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own CN¥107m worth of the CN¥2.1b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 45% of Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd stock. 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.

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. Be aware that Dezhou United Petroleum TechnologyLtd is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.