Key Insights

• Significant control over Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Institutions own 24% of Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer

If you want to know who really controls Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited (HKG:1066), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 46% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to HK$22b last week, private companies would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer. 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 Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer. Weihai Weigao International Medical Investment Holdings Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 46% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 2.2% and 2.1% of the stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 50% stake.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer

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. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own HK$56m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% 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

We can see that Private Companies own 46%, 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 Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer 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.