GS Retail Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:007070) largest shareholders are public companies who were rewarded as market cap surged ₩76b last week

Key Insights

• GS Retail's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 59% of the company is held by a single shareholder (GS Holdings Corp.)
• Institutions own 14% of GS Retail

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If you want to know who really controls GS Retail Co., Ltd. (KRX:007070), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 59% ownership. 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 were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 5.4% gain.

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

View our latest analysis for GS Retail

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GS Retail?

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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in GS Retail. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is GS Holdings Corp. with 59% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.4% and 1.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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

Insider Ownership Of GS Retail

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.

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 less than 1% of GS Retail Co., Ltd.. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own ₩125m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over GS Retail. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 59% of the GS Retail 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:

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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for GS Retail 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.