Institutional investors may overlook ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.'s (NYSE:ZIM) recent US$130m market cap drop as long-term gains remain positive

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 22 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Losing money on investments is something no shareholder enjoys, least of all institutional investors who saw their holdings value drop by 5.2% last week. However, the 163% one-year returns may have helped alleviate their overall losses. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about ZIM Integrated Shipping Services.

Check out our latest analysis for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ZIM Integrated Shipping Services?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. 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 ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Court Investments Limited, with ownership of 16%. D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. is the second largest shareholder owning 4.0% of common stock, and Renaissance Technologies LLC holds about 3.2% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Eliyahu Glickman is the owner of 1.1% of the company's shares.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 22 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can see that insiders own shares in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$25m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 36% stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 16%, of the company's shares. 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:

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 - ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think 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.