Key Insights

• Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the business is held by the top 13 shareholders
• 30% of Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603968) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 17% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but insiders who own 30% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Institutions have a very small stake in Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical. 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 business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical is not owned by hedge funds. Qing Quan Gu is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.8% of shares outstanding. With 8.5% and 7.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, NanTong City Construction Group Co.,Ltd and Nantong Industries Holding Group Co.Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Xin Nan Yu is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 13 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥2.7b, and insiders have CN¥820m worth of shares in their own names. 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-- including retail investors -- own 50% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 16%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Nantong Acetic Acid Chemical (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.