COSCO SHIPPING Energy welcomes CPIC's stake increase, with frequent institutional holdings rising this year

COSCO SHIPPING Energy (1138.HK) has received further increases in holdings.

On December 5th, CPIC (601601.SH) disclosed that as of November 29th, the shares of COSCO SHIPPING Energy held by the company, its affiliates, and concerted parties accounted for 5.04% of the H-share capital, reaching the threshold for a stake increase.

According to the closing price and exchange rate on the day of the stake increase, CPIC's book balance of COSCO SHIPPING Energy is approximately 177 million yuan.

CPIC stated that it will continue to monitor the company's operations and market reactions, and does not rule out the possibility of additional investments in the future.

Due to their large scale, long duration, and high stability, insurance funds naturally possess the potential to become patient capital, focusing on targets that combine growth and high dividend characteristics.

In addition to CPIC, China Life Insurance also holds shares in COSCO SHIPPING Energy and has now entered its top ten shareholders list.

As of the end of the third quarter, COSCO SHIPPING Energy's monetary funds and undistributed profits were 4.321 billion yuan and 15.458 billion yuan, respectively; the H-shares maintain a high dividend level, with a dividend yield of 10.28% as of December 4th.

Since the equity market has warmed up since the end of the third quarter, COSCO SHIPPING Energy has received multiple increases in holdings.

On October 20th, COSCO SHIPPING Energy announced that its indirect controlling shareholder, COSCO Shipping Group, would increase its A-share holdings by 679 million to 1.358 billion yuan using repurchase loan funds.

It stated that the purpose of the increase is to "enhance investor confidence, improve company value, and effectively protect the interests of a wide range of investors."

On November 25th, COSCO Shipping Group completed its planned initial increase, raising its shareholding ratio to 13.04%.

The originally planned executive share reduction has also not occurred.

In mid-May, COSCO SHIPPING Energy disclosed that three of its executive directors and senior management planned to reduce their A-share holdings by 171,500 shares within six months, with the shares originating from stock option exercises.

On December 3rd, COSCO SHIPPING Energy announced that the six-month period for the reduction had ended, and none of the three management members had reduced their holdings.

In the first three quarters of this year, COSCO SHIPPING Energy's revenue increased by 3.68% year-on-year to 17.144 billion yuan, while net profit attributable to the parent company decreased by 8.05% to 3.415 billion yuan; as of the end of the third quarter, monetary funds were 4.321 billion yuan, and undistributed profits were 15.458 billion yuan.

As of the close on December 5th, COSCO SHIPPING Energy's H-share dividend yield reached 10.28%, with a PE (price-to-earnings ratio) of 8.58 times and a PB (price-to-book ratio) of 0.73 times.

Fangzheng Securities analyst Zhou Rufei pointed out that the oil transportation sector has entered the traditional off-season in the second and third quarters. In the future, the demand and freight rates in the fourth quarter peak season are expected to rebound sequentially. The high certainty supply-demand mismatch for VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) will not change the upward trend in the cycle, and the mid-term prosperity does not need to be pessimistic.

Zhou Rufei predicts that COSCO SHIPPING Energy's net profit attributable to the parent company for 2024-2026 will be approximately 4.52 billion, 6.03 billion, and 7.25 billion yuan, corresponding to PE ratios of 14, 10, and 9 times