A look at the shareholders of Yonghui Superstores Co., Ltd. (SHSE:601933) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 34% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to CN¥31b last week, public companies 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 Yonghui Superstores.

See our latest analysis for Yonghui Superstores

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Yonghui Superstores?

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.

Yonghui Superstores already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Yonghui Superstores' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Yonghui Superstores. The company's largest shareholder is Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited, with ownership of 21%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 9.7% of the stock. Xuan-Song Zhang, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Yonghui Superstores

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 Yonghui Superstores Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥6.1b worth of shares in the CN¥31b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Yonghui Superstores. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 5.3%, of the Yonghui Superstores stock. 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 34% of Yonghui Superstores. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Yonghui Superstores better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Yonghui Superstores you should be aware of.

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.