Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 3 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry is 22%

Every investor in Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry Corporation Limited (SHSE:603477) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. 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).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 26% of the company's shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry?

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 Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry. The company's largest shareholder is Sichuan Giant Star Enterprise Group Co., Ltd., with ownership of 29%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 18% and 4.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry

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.

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 Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry Corporation 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¥759m 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 26% 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

We can see that Private Companies own 48%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Leshan Giantstar Farming&Husbandry , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.