Private companies invested in COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600428) copped the brunt of last week's CN¥751m market cap decline

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited with a 51% stake
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600428) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 51% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to CN¥12b last week, private companies would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd.

Check out our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited with 51% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 1.4% and 1.0% of the stock.

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 COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

With a 43% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 51%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for COSCO SHIPPING Specialized CarriersLtd that you should be aware of.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com