While individual investors own 36% of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (HKG:1919), private companies are its largest shareholders with 52% ownership

Key Insights

• Significant control over COSCO SHIPPING Holdings by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 3 shareholders own 51% of the company
• 12% of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings is held by Institutions

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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 52% 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).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 36% of the company's stockholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings.

Check out 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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in COSCO SHIPPING Holdings. China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 44% of shares outstanding. With 5.2% and 2.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group) Corp and China Securities Finance Corporation Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings

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. 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 information suggests that COSCO SHIPPING Holdings 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$65m worth of shares (at current prices). 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

With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over COSCO SHIPPING Holdings. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 52%, of the COSCO SHIPPING Holdings stock. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (of which 1 is potentially serious!) 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.