COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1138) market cap surged HK$3.1b last week, private companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 3 shareholders own 51% of the company
• 27% of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation is held by Institutions

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A look at the shareholders of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. (HKG:1138) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 46% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$3.1b last week.

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

Check out our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation

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

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation 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 COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation is not owned by hedge funds. China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 46% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 2.5% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.1% by the third-largest shareholder.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. in their own names. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own HK$3.0m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation. 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 46%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. Take risks for example - COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.