Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 6 shareholders own 52% of the company
• 24% of Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress is held by Institutions

Every investor in Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688131) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 40% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥855m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress?

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.

We can see that Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress. Shanghai Anxu Information Technology Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 32% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.1% and 4.0% of the stock.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress Co., Ltd.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than CN¥9.7m worth of shares in the CN¥4.8b company. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 7.1% stake in Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 40%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Shanghai Haoyuan Chemexpress you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.