Retail investors among Aizawa Securities Group Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:8708) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 11% price drop

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Aizawa Securities Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• Insider ownership in Aizawa Securities Group is 29%

A look at the shareholders of Aizawa Securities Group Co., Ltd. (TSE:8708) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 56% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 11% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 29% stock also took a hit.

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

See our latest analysis for Aizawa Securities Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aizawa Securities Group?

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 Aizawa Securities Group. 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 Aizawa Securities Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Aizawa Securities Group. The company's CEO Takuya Aizawa is the largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Motoya Aizawa and Keiko Suzuki, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 4.4%.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where 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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Aizawa Securities Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 Aizawa Securities Group Co., Ltd.. Insiders have a JP¥17b stake in this JP¥56b business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 56% stake in Aizawa Securities Group, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 3.2% of Aizawa Securities Group. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Aizawa Securities Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Aizawa Securities Group is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.