Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insider ownership in Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd is 15%

If you want to know who really controls Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Corp.,Ltd. (SHSE:603619), 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 35% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, individual investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 13% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd?

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.

Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd 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 Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd. The company's largest shareholder is Shanghai Zhongman Investment Holding Co., Ltd., with ownership of 22%. Fengxue Zhu is the second largest shareholder owning 8.7% of common stock, and Chongqing Lanhai Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) holds about 4.2% of the company stock.

We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd

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 maintain a significant holding in Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Corp.,Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥11b, and insiders have CN¥1.7b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 35% stake in Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 30%, of the shares on issue. 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 Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas GroupLtd is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

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.

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.