Key Insights

• Shandong Ruifeng Chemical's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 45% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders own 41% of Shandong Ruifeng Chemical

If you want to know who really controls Shandong Ruifeng Chemical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300243), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 55% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched CN¥3.0b last week, while insiders who own 41% also benefitted.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shandong Ruifeng Chemical?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Shandong Ruifeng 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 company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. 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.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shandong Ruifeng Chemical. Shibin Zhou is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.2% and 1.7% of the stock. In addition, we found that Chunxin Liu, the CEO has 1.3% of the shares allocated to their name.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Shandong Ruifeng Chemical

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Shandong Ruifeng Chemical Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥3.0b, and insiders have CN¥1.2b worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of Shandong Ruifeng Chemical shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

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 4 warning signs we've spotted with Shandong Ruifeng Chemical (including 3 which are concerning) .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this 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.