Retail investors are Shanghai Ailu Package Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:301062) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped CN¥701m

Key Insights

• Significant control over Shanghai Ailu Package by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• 43% of Shanghai Ailu Package is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Shanghai Ailu Package Co., Ltd. (SZSE:301062), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 49% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders who own 43% came under pressure after market cap dropped to CN¥4.4b last week,retail investors took the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Shanghai Ailu Package.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Ailu Package

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Ailu Package?

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.

Shanghai Ailu Package 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 Shanghai Ailu Package'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 Shanghai Ailu Package. The company's CEO Ankang Chen is the largest shareholder with 34% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 4.6% and 3.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Shanghai Ailu Package

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Shanghai Ailu Package Co., Ltd.. Insiders have a CN¥1.9b stake in this CN¥4.4b business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 49% stake in Shanghai Ailu Package. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Shanghai Ailu Package (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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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.