Key Insights

• Significant control over Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 10 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd is 18%

Every investor in Shanghai Aiko Solar Energy Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600732) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 6.7% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 18% stock also took a hit.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd?

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.

Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd is not owned by hedge funds. The company's CEO Gang Chen is the largest shareholder with 18% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 12% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 9.2% by the third-largest shareholder.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 10 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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

Insider Ownership Of Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Shanghai Aiko Solar Energy Co.,Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥2.7b worth of shares in the CN¥15b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 9.2% stake in Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 14%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Shanghai Aiko Solar EnergyLtd that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.