Private lives of public companies.

• Author: Donsky, Martin
• Position: Major stock holders in North Carolina's top 50 public companies - Includes related article: New to the list

PRIVATE LIVES OF PUBLIC COMPANIES

Don't waste your time charting the daily stock price of Brad Ragan Inc., the Charlotte-based tire retreader and retailer that has been a stalwart among the Top 50 public companies since BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA started keeping track in 1982.

Perhaps once a week somebody sells - and somebody buys - a few hundred shares. That's all. Brokers call this "trading by appointment."

Sure, Brad Ragan is listed on the American Stock Exchange. And its shares are owned by the investing public.

But since 1986, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., the Akron, Ohio-based giant, has owned nearly 75 percent of the company. At last check, 12 institutional investors held most of the remaining shares. Next to Goodyear, the largest shareholder is Gabelli & Co., a well-regarded Wall Street money-management firm, which owns 11 percent.

In 1989, just 131,000 of Brad Ragan's 2.2 million shares changed hands. Compare that with 76.5 million NCNB shares traded - nearly 300,000 a day.

Still, Brad Ragan meets BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA's requirements for membership in the Top 50. First, it is registered as a publicly owned company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Second, it is headquartered in North Carolina. Finally, it generated enough sales to make the list. (The Top 50 does not include banks, thrifts, utilities and investment companies, which are ranked by a different set of standards.)

Brad Ragan's situation is unusual, but it shows how a company's ownership can evolve once it decides to go public - depending upon how much of the company is put up for sale and to what degree management and owners rig the bylaws.

The Top 50 is a smorgasbord: companies whose shares are mostly owned by institutional investors, companies with broad ownership by individual investors and companies still controlled by the founders.

Table : Top 50 top ten public companies

LAST YEAR'S RANK 1. Food Lion 1 2. Lowe's Cos. 2 3. Rose's Stores 3 4. AMCA International - 5. Fieldcrest Cannon 4 6. Ruddick 5 7. Nucor 6 8. Standard Commercial 8 9. Ingles Markets 7 10. Family Dollar Stores 9 Who controls the top 50

Alba-Waldensian: Single largest holder is Chicago investor Clyde Engle, who owns nearly 40%. Engle also owns about 37% of Wellco Enterprises (see below).

AMCA International: Canadian Pacific Ltd. of Toronto owns 55%.

American City Business Journals: Shaw Publishing Co. of Charlotte owns about 30%. Shaw is 80% owned by Oklahoma Publishing Co., part of a media empire run by Eddie Gaylord.

Athey Products: Orton/.McCullough Crane Co. of Oak Brook, Ill., owns 40%. Institutions own about 20%.

B.B. Walker: ESOP owns about 30%. The B.B. Walker Foundation owns 7%. President Kent Anderson and Executive Vice President C.L. Richardson own 6% and 8%, respectively.

Burke Mills: Foreign investors led by Khalid A.H. Sagar of Kuwait bought 52% in 1978. Wellington Management Co., a Boston investment adviser, owns 10%.

CompuChem: Insiders own about 40%. Single largest shareholder (17%) is Chairman Harvey Krentzman, a Massachusetts management consultant. Institutions own about 30%.

Brad Ragan: See story.

Brendle's: Chairman Douglas Brendle, family and insiders own about 75%.

Carolina Freight: Diverse ownership, with more than 60% owned by institutions. Largest holder is M.D. Sass Associates, a New York investment adviser, with 9.5%.

Cato: Chairman Wayland Cato and family own about 45% of Class A shares, which are traded publicity and carry one vote per share. He and insiders own 99% of Class B shares, which carry 10 votes each and aren't traded publicity.

CCAIR: CEO Roy Haggerty and his brother own about 25%, and other officers and directors own a similar amount. Evrika Shipping Corp. of Greece owns about 13%.

CEM: Chairman and CEO Michael Collins owns about 14%. Institutions own about 29%.

Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated: Chairman J. Frank Harrison Jr. and family own about 50% of common stock and 98% of Class B shares. Coca-Cola Co. owns about 30% of common.

Communication Cable: Chairman James Fore and insiders own about 16%. Institutions own about 13%.

Culp: The Culps of High Point own nearly 40%. Institutions own about 20%.

Datasouth Computer: Founder and Chairman James Busby and co-founder William Hammock own about 18% each. Cold Heading Co., Detroit, owns about 40%.

Exide Electronics: President James Risher owns about 6%. Inco Battery Holdings Corp. of New York, from which Exide was spun off in 1982, owns nearly 17%. General Electric Pension Trust, with 8%, and Prudential Venture Partners, 5%, were early investors.

Family Dollar...