DS DANSUK CO., LTD.'s (KRX:017860) market cap dropped ₩89b last week; Retail investors bore the brunt

Key Insights

• Significant control over DS DANSUK by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Insiders own 41% of DS DANSUK

To get a sense of who is truly in control of DS DANSUK CO., LTD. (KRX:017860), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 45% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 18% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 41% stock also took a hit.

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

Check out our latest analysis for DS DANSUK

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DS DANSUK?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of DS DANSUK, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in DS DANSUK. The company's largest shareholder is Seung Uk Han, with ownership of 36%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.0% and 4.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of DS DANSUK

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of DS DANSUK CO., LTD.. Insiders own ₩167b worth of shares in the ₩410b company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. 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 45% stake in DS DANSUK. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 9.0%, of the DS DANSUK stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for DS DANSUK (1 is significant) that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.