Public companies among Ecopro Materials Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:450080) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 5.7% price drop

Key Insights

• Significant control over Ecopro Materials by public 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
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Ecopro Materials Co., Ltd. (KRX:450080), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 44% stake, public companies possess the maximum shares in the company. 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, public companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by ₩532b.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ecopro Materials.

See our latest analysis for Ecopro Materials

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ecopro Materials?

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.

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Ecopro Materials. The company's largest shareholder is Ecopro Co., Ltd., with ownership of 44%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 6.3% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Ecopro Materials

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Ecopro Materials Co., Ltd.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own ₩99b worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 26% stake in Ecopro Materials. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 18%, private equity firms could influence the Ecopro Materials board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 44% of Ecopro Materials stock. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Ecopro Materials you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.