Key Insights

• Significant control over CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited owns 75% of the company
• Institutional ownership in CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping is 13%

If you want to know who really controls CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping Company Limited (HKG:3877), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 75% stake, public companies possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While public companies were the group that benefitted the most from last week's HK$430m market cap gain, institutions too had a 13% share in those profits.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping?

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 CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping. Our data shows that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited is the largest shareholder with 75% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.5% and 4.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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 CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. It is rare to see such a low level of personal ownership, amongst the board (and it is possible that our data might be incomplete). Concerned investors should check here to see if insiders have been selling or buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 12% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 75% of the CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping shares on issue. 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:

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 CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.