Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insiders own 21% of Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Ningbo Lehui International Engineering Equipment Co.,Ltd (SHSE:603076), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 45% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 12% decline in share price, individual investors suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd, 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.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd. The company's largest shareholder is Ningbo Lehui Investment Holding Co., Ltd., with ownership of 18%. The second and third largest shareholders are Yunlian Lai and Yuening Huang, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 10%. Note that the second and third-largest shareholders are also Secretary and Vice Chairman, respectively, meaning that the company's top shareholders are insiders.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Ningbo Lehui International Engineering Equipment Co.,Ltd. Insiders own CN¥573m worth of shares in the CN¥2.7b company. 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

With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 30%, of the company's shares. 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.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Ningbo Lehui International Engineering EquipmentLtd you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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.