KSK Co.,Ltd.'s (TSE:9687) market cap up JP¥2.1b last week, benefiting both individual investors who own 37% as well as insiders

Key Insights

• Significant control over KSKLtd by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• 34% of KSKLtd is held by insiders

We check all companies for important risks. See what we found for KSKLtd in our free report.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of KSK Co.,Ltd. (TSE:9687), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 12% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but insiders who own 34% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

See our latest analysis for KSKLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About KSKLtd?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in KSKLtd. 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. 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 KSKLtd, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

KSKLtd is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Hikari Tsushin, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 8.7% of the stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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

Insider Ownership Of KSKLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of KSK Co.,Ltd.. Insiders own JP¥6.9b worth of shares in the JP¥20b company. 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-- including retail investors -- own 37% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 16% of the KSKLtd 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand KSKLtd better, we need to consider many other factors.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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.

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.