CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited's (HKG:317) last week's 13% decline must have disappointed private companies who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group)'s significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited owns 59% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited (HKG:317), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 59% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, private companies endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 13%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group), beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group)?

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.

We can see that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) 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. 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 CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group)'s historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group). Our data shows that China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited is the largest shareholder with 59% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 1.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.2% by the third-largest 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group)

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. We do not see this low level of ownership often, and it is possible our data is imperfect. But shareholders can click here to check if insiders have been selling stock.

General Public Ownership

With a 35% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group). While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 59%, of the company's shares. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.