Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Ganyuan Foods implies vested interests in company growth
• 57% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Binsheng Yan)
• Institutions own 20% of Ganyuan Foods

If you want to know who really controls Ganyuan Foods Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002991), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 63% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to CN¥5.9b last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Ganyuan Foods.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ganyuan Foods?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Ganyuan Foods. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Ganyuan Foods' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Ganyuan Foods is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Binsheng Yan is the largest shareholder with 57% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Ganyuan Foods

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. 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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Ganyuan Foods Co., Ltd.. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a CN¥3.7b stake in this CN¥5.9b business. 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

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ganyuan Foods. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ganyuan Foods better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Ganyuan Foods has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com