Key Insights

• Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 54% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Liaoning Fuan Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• 10% of Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Liaoning Fu-An Heavy Industry Co.,Ltd (SHSE:603315), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 54% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, private companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 11% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd. The company's largest shareholder is Liaoning Fuan Holdings Co., Ltd., with ownership of 54%. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.6% and 3.2% of the stock.

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 Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd

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. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 Liaoning Fu-An Heavy Industry Co.,Ltd. Insiders have a CN¥438m stake in this CN¥4.2b business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 33% stake in Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd. 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 54%, 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Liaoning Fu-An Heavy IndustryLtd (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.