Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Winner Medical's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The largest shareholder of the company is Jian Li with a 70% stake
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Winner Medical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300888) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 70% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of Winner Medical regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Winner Medical, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Winner Medical?

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 Winner Medical 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 Winner Medical, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Winner Medical. Our data shows that Jian Li is the largest shareholder with 70% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. The second and third largest shareholders are Sequoia Capital Equity Investment Management (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. and Xiamen Leyuan Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership), with an equal amount of shares to their name at 2.8%.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Winner Medical

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 own more than half of Winner Medical Co., Ltd.. This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of CN¥17b, that means insiders have a whopping CN¥12b worth of shares in their own names. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if they have been selling down their stake.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 16% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 5.6%, of the Winner Medical 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. Take risks for example - Winner Medical has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.