If you want to know who really controls Nanjing Hanrui Cobalt Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300618), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week's 3.2% price gain, insiders also received a 29% cut.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd.

See our latest analysis for Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd. 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. 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 Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Jie Liang with 16% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 2.4% of the stock.

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 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. 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 Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Nanjing Hanrui Cobalt Co.,Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥13b, and insiders have CN¥3.8b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 53% of Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.3%, of the Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd stock. 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 2 warning signs for Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd 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.