While insiders own 34% of SK Inc. (KRX:034730), individual investors are its largest shareholders with 43% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in SK indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 5 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insider ownership in SK is 34%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of SK Inc. (KRX:034730), 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 43% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And individual insiders on the other hand have a 34% ownership in the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.

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

See our latest analysis for SK

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SK?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

SK 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 SK's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SK. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Tae-won Chey with 33% of shares outstanding. National Pension Service is the second largest shareholder owning 10% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 2.9% of the company stock.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of SK

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. 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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of SK Inc.. Insiders own ₩2.6t worth of shares in the ₩7.8t company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in SK. 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.

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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for SK you should know about.

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.