Key Insights

• Significant control over Shandong Ruifeng Chemical by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 45% of the company
• Insider ownership in Shandong Ruifeng Chemical is 41%

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 54% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual investors gained the most after market cap touched CN¥3.1b last week, while insiders who own 41% also benefitted.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Shandong Ruifeng Chemical, beginning with the chart below.

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

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.

Less than 5% of Shandong Ruifeng Chemical is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. 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.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Shandong Ruifeng Chemical. Shibin Zhou is currently the company's largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.2% and 1.6% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Chunxin Liu directly holds 1.3% of the total shares outstanding.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.. Insiders have a CN¥1.3b stake in this CN¥3.1b business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 54% of Shandong Ruifeng Chemical. 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. Be aware that Shandong Ruifeng Chemical is showing 6 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those make us uncomfortable...

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.