Key Insights

• Significant control over COSCO SHIPPING Technology by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of COSCO SHIPPING Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002401) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥6.7b market cap following a 19% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of COSCO SHIPPING Technology, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Technology

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

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in COSCO SHIPPING Technology. 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. 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 Technology's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in COSCO SHIPPING Technology. Our data shows that COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 49% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 1.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.1% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of COSCO SHIPPING Technology

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. 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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in COSCO SHIPPING Technology Co., Ltd.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own CN¥106m worth of the CN¥6.7b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 39% 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 49% of COSCO SHIPPING Technology stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand COSCO SHIPPING Technology better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for COSCO SHIPPING Technology that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.