While institutions own 40% of Hoshizaki Corporation (TSE:6465), retail investors are its largest shareholders with 46% ownership

Key Insights

• Hoshizaki's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the business is held by the top 22 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Hoshizaki is 10%

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If you want to know who really controls Hoshizaki Corporation (TSE:6465), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 46% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And institutions on the other hand have a 40% ownership in the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

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

View our latest analysis for Hoshizaki

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hoshizaki?

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 Hoshizaki 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. 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 Hoshizaki'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 Hoshizaki. The company's largest shareholder is Seishi Sakamoto, with ownership of 8.8%. With 8.4% and 7.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Hoshizaki Green Foundation, Endowment Arm and First Eagle Investment Management, LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 22 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Hoshizaki

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Hoshizaki Corporation. Insiders own JP¥90b worth of shares in the JP¥867b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hoshizaki. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.