Key Insights

• Significant control over Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 41% of the company
• Institutions own 11% of Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd (SZSE:002839), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 58% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 4.6% decline in share price, retail investors suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank.

Check out our latest analysis for Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank?

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 Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank'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 Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Jiangsu Shagang Group Co., Ltd. with 8.2% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around CN¥22m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 58% of Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 31%, 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.