Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Changzhou Nrb indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders own 15% of Changzhou Nrb

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Changzhou Nrb Corporation (SZSE:002708), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥410m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Changzhou Nrb, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Changzhou Nrb?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Changzhou Nrb. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Changzhou Nrb. Our data shows that Changzhou Guangyang Holding Group Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. With 6.6% and 4.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Shang Nan Cheng and Tianjin Tanhas Group Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Shang Nan Cheng, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Changzhou Nrb

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Changzhou Nrb Corporation. Insiders own CN¥560m worth of shares in the CN¥3.8b company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 48% stake in Changzhou Nrb. 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 32%, 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:

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 Changzhou Nrb you should be aware of, and 2 of them make us uncomfortable.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.