Key Insights

• Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 49% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603399), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥368m last week.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium?

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.

Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Ningbo Jutai Investment Management Co., Ltd. with 34% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 10% and 2.7% of the stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. 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 Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium

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 Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium Co., Ltd.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It appears that the board holds about CN¥21m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of CN¥4.3b. 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 substantial 51% stake in Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 44%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Jinzhou Yongshan Lithium you should know about.

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.