To get a sense of who is truly in control of Zhejiang XCC Group Co.,Ltd (SHSE:603667), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 44% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders who own 38% came under pressure after market cap dropped to CN¥5.5b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd.

View our latest analysis for Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd?

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 Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd. 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 Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Feng Zhang with 23% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.0% and 7.1% of the stock.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Zhejiang XCC Group Co.,Ltd. Insiders have a CN¥2.1b stake in this CN¥5.5b business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 44% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 7.1%, of the Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Zhejiang XCC GroupLtd has 4 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.