COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:1919) market cap surged HK$7.3b last week, private companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• 13% of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is held by Institutions

Every investor in COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (HKG:1919) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 51% to be precise, is private companies. 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 collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$228b market cap following a 4.2% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about COSCO SHIPPING Holdings.

See our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About COSCO SHIPPING Holdings?

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.

COSCO SHIPPING Holdings 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. 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 COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in COSCO SHIPPING Holdings. China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 43% of shares outstanding. With 5.1% and 2.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group) Corp and China Securities Finance Corp, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own HK$92m of stock. 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 36% stake in COSCO SHIPPING Holdings. 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 51%, of the COSCO SHIPPING Holdings stock. 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. Be aware that COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...

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.