Individual investors account for 44% of Kangwon Land, Inc.'s (KRX:035250) ownership, while private companies account for 39%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Kangwon Land indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 12% of Kangwon Land is held by Institutions

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Kangwon Land, Inc. (KRX:035250), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, private companies make up 39% of the company’s shareholders.

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

See our latest analysis for Kangwon Land

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kangwon Land?

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.

Kangwon Land already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Kangwon Land's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Kangwon Land is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation with 39% of shares outstanding. National Pension Service is the second largest shareholder owning 6.8% of common stock, and Jeongseon County holds about 5.4% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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

Insider Ownership Of Kangwon Land

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

With a 44% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kangwon Land. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 39%, of the Kangwon Land stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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. Take risks for example - Kangwon Land has 2 warning signs we think 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.