Wuhan Dameng Database Company Limited's (SHSE:688692) biggest owners are private companies who got richer after stock soared 3.0% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Wuhan Dameng Database indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Wuhan Dameng Database Company Limited (SHSE:688692), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥19b market cap following a 3.0% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Wuhan Dameng Database.

See our latest analysis for Wuhan Dameng Database

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wuhan Dameng Database?

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.

We can see that Wuhan Dameng Database does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Wuhan Dameng Database's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Wuhan Dameng Database is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is China Electronics Corporation, with ownership of 23%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.6% and 6.7%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Wuhan Dameng Database

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Wuhan Dameng Database Company Limited. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around CN¥1.5b worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 35% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 48%, of the Wuhan Dameng Database stock. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Wuhan Dameng Database (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.