To get a sense of who is truly in control of Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002084), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 46% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, individual investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥3.3b market cap following a 13% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products.

See our latest analysis for Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products?

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 Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products. 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 Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products is not owned by hedge funds. Zhongyu Investment Management Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. Zhongsheng Group Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.9% of common stock, and Qeeka Home (Cayman) Inc. holds about 4.8% of the company stock.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products Co., Ltd.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than CN¥28m worth of shares in the CN¥3.3b company. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 46% stake in Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 42%, of the company's shares. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 6.4% of the Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Guangzhou Seagull Kitchen and Bath Products you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

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.