Key Insights

• Significant control over Guangxi Energy by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Guangxi Investment Group Co.,Ltd)
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Guangxi Energy Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600310) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 52% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥366m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Guangxi Energy, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Guangxi Energy?

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 Guangxi Energy. 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 Guangxi Energy's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Guangxi Energy. Guangxi Investment Group Co.,Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 51% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 1.2% and 0.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, E Fund Management Co., Ltd. and National Council for Social Security Fund 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 Guangxi Energy

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

With a 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Guangxi Energy. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 52%, of the Guangxi Energy 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Guangxi Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Guangxi Energy (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.