COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1138) stock price dropped 4.1% last week; private companies would not be happy

Key Insights

• COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 51% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation is 23%

If you want to know who really controls COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. (HKG:1138), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company 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 market cap fell to HK$67b 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 Energy Transportation.

View 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.

COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation 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 Energy Transportation'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 Energy Transportation. Our data shows that China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is the largest shareholder with 45% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 1.9% and 1.8% of the stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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 information suggests that COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own HK$4.3m worth of shares (at current prices). 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 32% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 45%, of the COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation stock. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.