Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 9 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutions own 14% of Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical

A look at the shareholders of Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000819) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, individual investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 6.9%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical?

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.

Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical 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. 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 Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China Petrochemical Corporation with 23% of shares outstanding. With 7.9% and 5.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Hunan Changlian Xingzhang Enterprise Services Co., Ltd. and First Seafront Fund Management Co., Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders.

We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 47% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 39%, of the shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Yueyang Xingchang Petro-Chemical (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.