Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co.,Ltd's (SZSE:000792) top owners are retail investors with 43% stake, while 20% is held by private companies

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 10 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd is 18%

Every investor in Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co.,Ltd (SZSE:000792) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 43% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And private companies on the other hand have a 20% ownership in the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd.

View our latest analysis for Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Qinghai State-owned Assets Investment and Management Co. ,Ltd. with 12% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.6% and 6.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

We also observed that the top 10 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.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd

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.

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 information suggests that Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co.,Ltd insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own CN¥507k of stock. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd. 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 19%, 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

We can see that Private Companies own 20%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Qinghai Salt Lake IndustryLtd you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.