Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in CGN Nuclear Technology Development indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 8 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

If you want to know who really controls CGN Nuclear Technology Development Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000881), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 6.2% decline in share price, individual investors suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about CGN Nuclear Technology Development.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CGN Nuclear Technology Development?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of CGN Nuclear Technology Development, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in CGN Nuclear Technology Development. China General Nuclear Power Corporation is currently the company's largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 4.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, China Dalian International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group Co., Ltd. and Xiao Min Chen are the second and third largest shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of CGN Nuclear Technology Development

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in CGN Nuclear Technology Development Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥6.2b, and insiders have CN¥366m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 47% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over CGN Nuclear Technology Development. 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 45%, of the company's shares. 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:

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 1 warning sign for CGN Nuclear Technology Development that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.