Every investor in Shandong Sino-Agri United Biotechnology Co.,Ltd (SZSE:003042) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

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 Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd.

See our latest analysis for Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd?

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.

Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd. Our data shows that CNAMPGC Shanghai Corporation is the largest shareholder with 31% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.6% and 8.6% of the stock. Xu Hui, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Shandong Sino-Agri United Biotechnology Co.,Ltd. Insiders have a CN¥366m stake in this CN¥2.8b business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% 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 48%, of the Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

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. Take risks for example - Shandong Sino-Agri United BiotechnologyLtd has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.