Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 44% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd is 29%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Nanjing Hanrui Cobalt Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300618), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 56% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders who own 29% came under pressure after market cap dropped to CN¥9.5b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd.

Check out our latest analysis for Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd

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

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd 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. 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 Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd. The company's CEO Jie Liang is the largest shareholder with 16% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 2.2% 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 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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Nanjing Hanrui CobaltLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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¥9.5b, and insiders have CN¥2.8b 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 56% 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 4.0%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.