retail investors who own 42% along with institutions invested in Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE:5021) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Cosmo Energy Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Cosmo Energy Holdings is 32%

Our free stock report includes 2 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Cosmo Energy Holdings. Read for free now.

If you want to know who really controls Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE:5021), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 42% stake, retail investors 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.

Following a 3.4% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 32% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Cosmo Energy Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cosmo Energy Holdings?

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 Cosmo Energy Holdings 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Cosmo Energy Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Cosmo Energy Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Iwatani Corporation is currently the company's largest shareholder with 21% of shares outstanding. With 3.4% and 2.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 15 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Cosmo Energy Holdings

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 information suggests that Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own JP¥760m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. 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 Cosmo Energy Holdings. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 24% of the Cosmo Energy Holdings shares on issue. 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Cosmo Energy Holdings (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) 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.