Key Insights

• Significant control over Hunan Corun New Energy by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• 13% of Hunan Corun New Energy is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hunan Corun New Energy Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600478), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 49% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And following last week's 5.2% decline in share price, retail investors suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hunan Corun New Energy.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hunan Corun New 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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Hunan Corun New Energy. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. 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.

Hunan Corun New Energy is not owned by hedge funds. Hunan Corun Hi-tech Group Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. and Geely Technology Group Co., Ltd., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 10%.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Hunan Corun New Energy

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 maintain a significant holding in Hunan Corun New Energy Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥7.6b, and insiders have CN¥1.0b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 49% stake in Hunan Corun New 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

We can see that Private Companies own 33%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Hunan Corun New Energy .

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.

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