Healios K.K. (TSE:4593) surges 15%; retail investors who own 51% shares profited along with insiders

Key Insights

• Healios K.K's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 54% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• 30% of Healios K.K is held by insiders

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Healios K.K. (TSE:4593), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched JP¥26b last week, while insiders who own 30% also benefitted.

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

View our latest analysis for Healios K.K

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Healios K.K?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Healios K.K's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

It would appear that 21% of Healios K.K shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Tadahisa S. Kagimoto with 28% of shares outstanding. Athos Capital Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 21% of common stock, and Albion Capital Group LLP holds about 5.4% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. 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 Healios K.K

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Healios K.K.. Insiders have a JP¥7.8b stake in this JP¥26b business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 51% stake in Healios K.K, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.4% stake in Healios K.K. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Healios K.K better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Healios K.K has 3 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future .

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.