Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in China Communications Construction indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• China Communications Construction Group (Ltd.) owns 59% of the company
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls China Communications Construction Company Limited (HKG:1800), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 60% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And individual investors on the other hand have a 33% ownership in the company.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of China Communications Construction, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About China Communications Construction?

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 China Communications Construction. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 China Communications Construction's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in China Communications Construction. China Communications Construction Group (Ltd.) is currently the largest shareholder, with 59% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 3.0% and 0.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, China Securities Finance Corp, Asset Management Arm and GF Fund Management Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of China Communications Construction

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.

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.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are 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 33% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 60%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand China Communications Construction better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for China Communications Construction you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

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.