Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 17 shareholders own 48% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

If you want to know who really controls Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002561), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 52% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥391m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial, for yourself, below.

Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial is not owned by hedge funds. Shanghai Xujiahui Shopping Center (Group) Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 30% of shares outstanding. Shanghai ShangTou Industrial Investment Holding Co., Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.0% of common stock, and Shanghai Huixin Investment Co., Ltd. holds about 3.2% of the company stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 17 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial

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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial Co., Ltd.. In their own names, insiders own CN¥339m worth of stock in the CN¥4.2b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 52% of Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 40%, of the Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial stock. 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 instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial (2 are concerning) that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.