Key Insights

• Xinyi Energy Holdings' significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• Xinyi Solar Holdings Limited owns 52% of the company
• 18% of Xinyi Energy Holdings is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Xinyi Energy Holdings Limited (HKG:3868), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is public companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While insiders, who own 18% shares weren't spared from last week's HK$413m market cap drop, public companies as a group suffered the maximum losses

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Xinyi Energy Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Xinyi Energy Holdings?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Xinyi Energy Holdings. 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 Xinyi Energy Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Xinyi Energy Holdings. Our data shows that Xinyi Solar Holdings Limited is the largest shareholder with 52% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 8.6% and 7.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Yin Yee Lee and Shanghai Wealspring Asset Management Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Xinyi Energy Holdings

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 Xinyi Energy Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just HK$5.7b, and insiders have HK$1.0b worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 11% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Xinyi Energy Holdings. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 57% of the Xinyi Energy Holdings shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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 instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Xinyi Energy Holdings (1 is a bit unpleasant) that 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.