Institutions own 31% of ZOZO, Inc. (TSE:3092) shares but private companies control 52% of the company

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in ZOZO indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Z Intermediate Holdings Co.,Ltd. owns 52% of the company
• Institutions own 31% of ZOZO

If you want to know who really controls ZOZO, Inc. (TSE:3092), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutions, on the other hand, account for 31% of the company's stockholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

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

Check out our latest analysis for ZOZO

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ZOZO?

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in ZOZO. Our data shows that Z Intermediate Holdings Co.,Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 52% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.8% and 4.8% of the stock.

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 ZOZO

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in ZOZO, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth JP¥43b. we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over ZOZO. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 52%, of the ZOZO stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand ZOZO better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with ZOZO .

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.