Key Insights

• Significant control over BAIC Motor by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 2 shareholders own 56% of the company
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

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Every investor in BAIC Motor Corporation Limited (HKG:1958) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, private companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.5% gain.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of BAIC Motor, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for BAIC Motor

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BAIC Motor?

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.

We can see that BAIC Motor does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 BAIC Motor's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in BAIC Motor. Our data shows that Beijing State-owned Capital Operation and Management Company Limited is the largest shareholder with 47% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.6% and 1.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of BAIC Motor

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.

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. It is rare to see such a low level of personal ownership, amongst the board (and it is possible that our data might be incomplete). Concerned investors should check here to see if insiders have been selling or buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 38% stake in BAIC Motor. 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 47%, of the BAIC Motor 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 9.6% of BAIC Motor stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. Be aware that BAIC Motor is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.