Retail investors are Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment Industry Co.,Ltd.'s (SHSE:600119) biggest owners and were rewarded after market cap rose by CN¥278m last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 4 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment Industry Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600119) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥2.4b market cap following a 13% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd.

See our latest analysis for Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment 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.

We can see that Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd, (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 Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd. Our data shows that Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Development Co.,Ltd is the largest shareholder with 46% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 3.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 0.8% by the third-largest shareholder.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 50% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd. 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 46% of Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Y.U.D.Yangtze River Investment IndustryLtd (at least 1 which is potentially serious) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.