Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 3 shareholders own 55% of the company
• Institutions own 16% of Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688667), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 60% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 11%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics.

Check out our latest analysis for Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics. With a 26% stake, CEO Heping Wang is the largest shareholder. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 24% and 5.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Zhanghua Wu is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a CN¥2.3b stake in this CN¥3.8b business. 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-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 7.1%, of the shares on issue. 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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Wuhan Lincontrol Automotive Electronics (1 is significant!) 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.