Individual investors who hold 49% of Lake Materials Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:281740) gained 8.3%, insiders profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Lake Materials indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 50% of the business is held by the top 15 shareholders
• 44% of Lake Materials is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Lake Materials Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:281740), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 49% 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.

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 8.3% price gain, insiders also received a 44% cut.

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

View our latest analysis for Lake Materials

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Lake Materials?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Lake Materials. 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. 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 Lake Materials' 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 Lake Materials. Our data shows that Jin-Dong Kim is the largest shareholder with 28% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Taek-Dong Kim and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 15 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Lake Materials

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Lake Materials Co., Ltd.. Insiders own ₩439b worth of shares in the ₩1.0t 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 49% stake in Lake Materials. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Lake Materials (of which 2 are potentially serious!) you should know about.

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.