Private companies are Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2238) biggest owners and were rewarded after market cap rose by HK$6.8b last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Guangzhou Automobile Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co. Ltd. with a 53% stake
• Insiders have been buying lately

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:2238), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 56% stake, private companies 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, private companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 21% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Guangzhou Automobile Group.

See our latest analysis for Guangzhou Automobile Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Guangzhou Automobile Group?

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 Guangzhou Automobile Group. 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 Guangzhou Automobile Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Guangzhou Automobile Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co. Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 53% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 3.8% and 3.2% of the stock.

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 Guangzhou Automobile Group

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth HK$2.9b. we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 27% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Guangzhou Automobile Group. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 56%, of the company's shares. 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.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Guangzhou Automobile Group (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant) .

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.