Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:000893) market cap surged CN¥795m last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• Significant control over Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 13 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd is 14%

If you want to know who really controls Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:000893), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 45% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, retail investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.8% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd.

See our latest analysis for Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd?

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.

Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd 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. 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 Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd. Our data shows that All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives is the largest shareholder with 16% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.2% and 8.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.,Ltd. in their own names. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own CN¥179m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 45% stake in Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 5.1%, 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 35%, of the company's shares. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Asia-potash International Investment (Guangzhou)Co.Ltd you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

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.