Private companies who hold 41% of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Limited (HKG:81) gained 9.8%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• China Overseas Grand Oceans Group'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 2 shareholders
• 11% of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Limited (HKG:81), 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 41% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 9.8% increase in the stock price last week, private companies profited the most, but institutions who own 32% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for China Overseas Grand Oceans Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About China Overseas Grand Oceans Group?

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.

We can see that China Overseas Grand Oceans Group 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at China Overseas Grand Oceans Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in China Overseas Grand Oceans Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China Construction Engineering Corp. with 40% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Fidelity International Ltd and Kwok Kee Yung, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 11%. Kwok Kee Yung, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Vice Chairman.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 China Overseas Grand Oceans Group

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Limited. It has a market capitalization of just HK$5.6b, and insiders have HK$637m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 15% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 41%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that China Overseas Grand Oceans Group is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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

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.