Key Insights

• Significant control over Ganfeng Lithium Group by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 41% of the company
• 28% of Ganfeng Lithium Group is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002460), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week's CN¥6.3b market cap gain, insiders too had a 28% share in those profits.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ganfeng Lithium Group?

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 Ganfeng Lithium Group 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Ganfeng Lithium Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ganfeng Lithium Group. The company's CEO Liangbin Li is the largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.1% and 1.5% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Xiaoshen Wang is also President, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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.

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. 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 Ganfeng Lithium Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Ganfeng Lithium Group Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥18b worth of shares in the CN¥63b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Ganfeng Lithium Group shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Ganfeng Lithium Group 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.