Key Insights

• Hutchison Port Holdings Trust's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (SGX:NS8U) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 46% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, individual investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 5.8% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hutchison Port Holdings Trust.

See our latest analysis for Hutchison Port Holdings Trust

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hutchison Port Holdings Trust?

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.

We can see that Hutchison Port Holdings Trust 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 Hutchison Port Holdings Trust's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust is not owned by hedge funds. CK Hutchison Holdings Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 30% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 14% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.0% by the third-largest shareholder.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own US$440k worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 46% stake in Hutchison Port Holdings Trust. 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 14%, of the company's shares. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 30% of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hutchison Port Holdings Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Hutchison Port Holdings Trust you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

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.