Key Insights

• Significant control over EHang Holdings by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 8 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insider ownership in EHang Holdings is 33%

If you want to know who really controls EHang Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:EH), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 20% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 33% stock also took a hit.

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

Check out our latest analysis for EHang Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About EHang Holdings?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in EHang Holdings. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 EHang Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

EHang Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Huazhi Hu with 31% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.4% and 3.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

We also observed that the top 8 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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of EHang Holdings

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.

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 a reasonable proportion of EHang Holdings Limited. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful US$365m stake in this US$1.1b business. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 45% stake in EHang Holdings. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with EHang Holdings , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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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.