Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The top 5 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002458), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 49% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to CN¥11b last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding?

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.

Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding 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 Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding. Jisheng Cao is currently the company's largest shareholder with 41% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 3.1% and 2.9% of the stock.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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 a reasonable proportion of Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥5.3b worth of shares in the CN¥11b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 3.1%, of the company's shares. 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:

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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.