Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:012450) biggest owners are retail investors who got richer after stock soared 4.7% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Hanwha Aerospace indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 50% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in Hanwha Aerospace is 27%

A look at the shareholders of Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd. (KRX:012450) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 39% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit ₩15t market cap following a 4.7% gain in the stock.

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

View our latest analysis for Hanwha Aerospace

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hanwha Aerospace?

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.

Hanwha Aerospace already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Hanwha Aerospace's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hanwha Aerospace is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Hanwha Corporation, with ownership of 34%. With 7.6% and 3.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Pension Service and Orbis Investment Management Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 50% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Hanwha Aerospace

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd. in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own ₩6.8b worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 39% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

We can see that public companies hold 34% of the Hanwha Aerospace shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Hanwha Aerospace that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.