Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:012450) market cap surged ₩733b last week, individual investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Hanwha Aerospace indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Hanwha Aerospace is 26%

If you want to know who really controls Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd. (KRX:012450), 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 40% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, individual investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit ₩13t market cap following a 6.0% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hanwha Aerospace.

See our latest analysis for Hanwha Aerospace

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hanwha Aerospace?

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.

Hanwha Aerospace already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hanwha Aerospace. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Hanwha Corporation with 34% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.6% and 3.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 Hanwha Aerospace

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 information suggests that Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own ₩5.9b of stock. 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 40% 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 34% of the Hanwha Aerospace shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Hanwha Aerospace you should be aware of.

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.

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