Key Insights

• Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• Weiming Zhang owns 60% of the company
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603324), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 62% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 18% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology?

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.

Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology. With a 60% stake, CEO Weiming Zhang is the largest shareholder. This implies that they possess majority interests and have significant control over the company. Investors usually consider it a good sign when the company leadership has such a significant stake, as this is widely perceived to increase the chance that the management will act in the best interests of the company. With 3.2% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Shanghai Kunsheng Business Management Partnership Enterprise (L.P.) and HuaAn Fund Management Company Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders own more than half of Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology Co., Ltd.. This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of CN¥3.4b, that means they have CN¥2.1b worth of shares. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 3.2%, of the Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology stock. 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:

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Shanghai Sheng Jian Environment Technology (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.