Private companies among Jiangxi Copper Company Limited's (HKG:358) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 6.7% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Jiangxi Copper indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 50% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• 15% of Jiangxi Copper is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Jiangxi Copper Company Limited (HKG:358) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is private companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$63b market cap following a 6.7% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Jiangxi Copper.

See our latest analysis for Jiangxi Copper

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jiangxi Copper?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Jiangxi Copper. 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. 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 Jiangxi Copper'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 Jiangxi Copper. Jiangxi State-Owned Capital Operation Holdings Group Co.,Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 44% of shares outstanding. China Securities Finance Corp, Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 3.0% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 1.9% of the company stock.

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.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Jiangxi Copper

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.

Our information suggests that Jiangxi Copper Company Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own HK$481m of stock. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 40% stake in Jiangxi Copper. 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 44%, of the Jiangxi Copper 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.

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. Be aware that Jiangxi Copper is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , 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.