Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material Co., Ltd. (SZSE:301219) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 42% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥427m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material?

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.

We can see that Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material is not owned by hedge funds. Jie Luo is currently the company's largest shareholder with 24% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 9.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Fubiao Xie and Xiamen Tungsten Co.,Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Fubiao Xie, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Senior Key Executive.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥11b, and insiders have CN¥4.4b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. 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-- including retail investors -- own 24% 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 Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 5.1%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.0%, of the Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 15% of the Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Material (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

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.