Key Insights

• Nanfang Zhongjin Environment's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 43% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Nanfang Zhongjin Environment is 14%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Nanfang Zhongjin Environment Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300145), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 56% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, individual investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥592m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Nanfang Zhongjin Environment.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nanfang Zhongjin Environment?

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.

We can see that Nanfang Zhongjin Environment does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Nanfang Zhongjin Environment's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Nanfang Zhongjin Environment. The company's largest shareholder is Wuxi Public Utilities Industrial Group Co.,Ltd., with ownership of 22%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.9% and 2.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Nanfang Zhongjin Environment

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Nanfang Zhongjin Environment Co., Ltd.. Insiders have a CN¥985m stake in this CN¥7.2b business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 56% of Nanfang Zhongjin Environment. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 22%, of the Nanfang Zhongjin Environment stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Nanfang Zhongjin Environment better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Nanfang Zhongjin Environment .

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.