COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1138) biggest owners are private companies who got richer after stock soared 3.6% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Institutions own 23% of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation

Every investor in COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. (HKG:1138) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies 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).

As a result, private companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.6% gain.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation?

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 COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation. China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 45% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 2.5% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 Energy Transportation

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own HK$4.2m of stock. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 45%, 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.