Angel Yeast Co., Ltd (SHSE:600298) stock most popular amongst retail investors who own 42%, while private companies hold 39%

Key Insights

• Angel Yeast's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 9 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Angel Yeast is 19%

If you want to know who really controls Angel Yeast Co., Ltd (SHSE:600298), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 42% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Private companies, on the other hand, account for 39% of the company's stockholders.

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

See our latest analysis for Angel Yeast

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Angel Yeast?

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.

Angel Yeast already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Angel Yeast, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Angel Yeast. Hubei Angel Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 39% of shares outstanding. With 3.3% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Perseverance Asset Management L.L.P. and Zhong Ou Fund Management Co., Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 9 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Angel Yeast

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. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Angel Yeast Co., Ltd. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own CN¥7.0m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 42% stake in Angel Yeast. 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 39%, of the shares on issue. 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. Take risks for example - Angel Yeast has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.