Is Jinro Distillers Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:018120) Shareholder Ownership Skewed Towards Insiders?

Every investor in Jinro Distillers Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:018120) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

Jinro Distillers is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of ₩204b, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Jinro Distillers.

View our latest analysis for Jinro Distillers

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jinro Distillers?

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.

We can see that Jinro Distillers does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Jinro Distillers' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Jinro Distillers. The company's largest shareholder is Tae-Sun Seo, with ownership of 27%. The second and third largest shareholders are Jin-Yi Jang and Jinhyuk Chang, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 18%. Furthermore, CEO Jong-Sik Kim is the owner of 1.7% of the company's shares.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 64% stake.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Jinro Distillers

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Jinro Distillers Co., Ltd.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a ₩134b stake in this ₩204b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 18% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over Jinro Distillers. 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

It appears to us that public companies own 8.7% of Jinro Distillers. 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 Jinro Distillers that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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