Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Xiamen TungstenLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Xiamen TungstenLtd is 14%

A look at the shareholders of Xiamen Tungsten Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600549) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 46% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, private companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CN¥2.5b.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Xiamen TungstenLtd?

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.

Xiamen TungstenLtd 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 Xiamen TungstenLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Xiamen TungstenLtd is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Fujian Metallurgical (Holdings) Co., Ltd is the largest shareholder with 32% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.6% and 3.6% of the stock.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Xiamen TungstenLtd

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.

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 information suggests that Xiamen Tungsten Co.,Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around CN¥14m worth of shares (at current prices). It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Xiamen TungstenLtd. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 46%, of the company's shares. 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. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Xiamen TungstenLtd that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.