Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The largest shareholder of the company is Shilong Xu with a 69% stake
• Institutions own 13% of Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group

If you want to know who really controls Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group Co., Ltd. (SHSE:605598), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 71% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And following last week's 11% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Shilong Xu (who also holds the title of Secretary) with 69% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. With 3.4% and 3.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ningbo Longwan Equity Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) and China Post & Capital Fund Management Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 that insiders own more than half the Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group Co., Ltd. stock. This gives them a lot of power. So they have a CN¥3.1b stake in this CN¥4.4b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 15% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Shanghai Geoharbour Construction Group 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.