Institutional investors may adopt severe steps after GS Yuasa Corporation's (TSE:6674) latest 3.9% drop adds to a year losses

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, GS Yuasa's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 19 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of GS Yuasa Corporation (TSE:6674) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 48% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's share price fell by 3.9% last week. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 13% for shareholders. Often called “market movers", institutions wield significant power in influencing the price dynamics of any stock. As a result, if the downtrend continues, institutions may face pressures to sell GS Yuasa, which might have negative implications on individual investors.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of GS Yuasa.

See our latest analysis for GS Yuasa

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GS Yuasa?

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 GS Yuasa 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 GS Yuasa's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in GS Yuasa. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 4.9% of shares outstanding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 4.8% of common stock, and Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. holds about 4.6% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 19 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of GS Yuasa

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 less than 1% of GS Yuasa Corporation. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own JP¥161m worth of shares. 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 42% stake in GS Yuasa. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 7.1% of GS Yuasa stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand GS Yuasa better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - GS Yuasa has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

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.