Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 49% ownership
• Insider ownership in Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd is 37%

A look at the shareholders of Jiangsu Seagull Cooling Tower Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:603269) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 30% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but insiders who own 37% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd?

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.

Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd 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 Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Zhu Ping Wu with 13% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 4.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ao Da Jin and Hua Yang are the second and third largest shareholders. Hua Yang, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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 Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Jiangsu Seagull Cooling Tower Co.,Ltd.. Insiders have a CN¥610m stake in this CN¥1.6b business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 51% of Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 3.0%, of the Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd stock. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Jiangsu Seagull Cooling TowerLtd , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.