Key Insights

• Significant control over COSCO SHIPPING Ports by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 67% of the company is held by a single shareholder (COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• Institutional ownership in COSCO SHIPPING Ports is 13%

If you want to know who really controls COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited (HKG:1199), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 67% to be precise, is public companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 20% of the company's shareholders.

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

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

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.

COSCO SHIPPING Ports 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 Ports' 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 Ports. The company's largest shareholder is COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd., with ownership of 67%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 4.7% and 1.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Silchester International Investors LLP and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of COSCO SHIPPING Ports

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Our information suggests that COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own HK$5.0m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 20% stake in COSCO SHIPPING Ports. 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 67% of the COSCO SHIPPING Ports shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand COSCO SHIPPING Ports better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with COSCO SHIPPING Ports .

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.