Private companies among HIGEN Motor Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:160190) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 9.4% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over HIGEN Motor by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 56% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Insiders own 14% of HIGEN Motor

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Every investor in HIGEN Motor Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:160190) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by ₩91b last week.

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

See our latest analysis for HIGEN Motor

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HIGEN Motor?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. HIGEN Motor'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.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in HIGEN Motor. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Danocorf Co., Ltd with 29% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 27% and 13%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Additionally, the company's CEO Jae Hak Kim directly holds 10% of the total shares outstanding.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 56% stake.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of HIGEN Motor

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of HIGEN Motor Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just ₩1.1t, and insiders have ₩152b worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 41%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 27% of the HIGEN Motor 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:

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 2 warning signs for HIGEN Motor you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

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.