Shanghai Electric Power Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600021) stock most popular amongst private companies who own 45%, while individual investors hold 35%

Key Insights

• Significant control over Shanghai Electric Power by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 57% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Shanghai Electric Power Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600021) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 45% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 35% of the company's stockholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Shanghai Electric Power, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai Electric Power

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Electric Power?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Shanghai Electric Power. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Shanghai Electric Power, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Shanghai Electric Power. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is State Power Investment Corporation Limited with 44% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 13% and 1.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of 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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Shanghai Electric Power

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. 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. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 35% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 45%, of the Shanghai Electric Power stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 13% of Shanghai Electric Power stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Shanghai Electric Power better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Shanghai Electric Power (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.