Koatsu Gas Kogyo Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:4097) market cap decline of JP¥10b may not have as much of an impact on institutional owners after a year of 2.7% returns

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Koatsu Gas Kogyo implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 7 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Koatsu Gas Kogyo Co., Ltd. (TSE:4097), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 41% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to JP¥42b last week. However, the 2.7% one-year returns may have helped alleviate their overall losses. We would assume however, that they would be on the lookout for weakness in the future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Koatsu Gas Kogyo.

Check out our latest analysis for Koatsu Gas Kogyo

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Koatsu Gas Kogyo?

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 Koatsu Gas Kogyo does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Koatsu Gas Kogyo's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Koatsu Gas Kogyo is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Koatsu Kyoueikai is the largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 7.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Denka Company Limited and Zenkyoren Asset Management of America Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 7 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Koatsu Gas Kogyo

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Koatsu Gas Kogyo Co., Ltd. in their own names. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It appears that the board holds about JP¥166m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of JP¥42b. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Koatsu Gas Kogyo. 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 17% of Koatsu Gas Kogyo 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:

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

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com