Individual investors who hold 49% of Hankook Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (KRX:123690) gained 27%, insiders profited as well

Key Insights

• Significant control over Hankook Cosmetics by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Hankook Cosmetics is 31%

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hankook Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (KRX:123690), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s ₩43b market cap gain, insiders too had a 31% share in those profits.

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

View our latest analysis for Hankook Cosmetics

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hankook Cosmetics?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Hankook Cosmetics might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hankook Cosmetics. The company's largest shareholder is Hankook Cosmetics Manufacturing Co., Ltd, with ownership of 20%. Chung-Heon Lim is the second largest shareholder owning 16% of common stock, and Kim Suk Ja holds about 9.5% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Yong Joon Lee is the owner of 4.7% of the company's shares.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 50% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. 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 Hankook Cosmetics

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Hankook Cosmetics Co., Ltd.. Insiders own ₩63b worth of shares in the ₩205b company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 49% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 20% of Hankook Cosmetics 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hankook Cosmetics better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Hankook Cosmetics (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this 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.