KATITAS CO., Ltd.'s (TSE:8919) large institutional owners must be happy as stock continues to impress, up 11% over the past week

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in KATITAS implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 5 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

If you want to know who really controls KATITAS CO., Ltd. (TSE:8919), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 44% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained JP¥22b in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 36% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

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

Check out our latest analysis for KATITAS

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About KATITAS?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that KATITAS 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. 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 KATITAS' 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 KATITAS. Our data shows that Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 34% of shares outstanding. Harris Associates L.P. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.1% of common stock, and Matthews International Capital Management, LLC holds about 5.1% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Katsutoshi Arai is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of KATITAS

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

We can see that insiders own shares in KATITAS CO., Ltd.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own JP¥2.4b worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 21% stake in KATITAS. 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

It appears to us that public companies own 34% of KATITAS. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for KATITAS you should be aware of.

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.

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

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.