Retail investors among Paik Kwang Industrial Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:001340) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 10% price drop

Key Insights

• Paik Kwang Industrial's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• Insiders own 27% of Paik Kwang Industrial

If you want to know who really controls Paik Kwang Industrial Co., Ltd. (KRX:001340), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While insiders who own 27% came under pressure after market cap dropped to ₩342b last week,retail investors took the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Paik Kwang Industrial.

Check out our latest analysis for Paik Kwang Industrial

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Paik Kwang Industrial?

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 could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Paik Kwang Industrial's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Paik Kwang Industrial. Our data shows that Sung-Hoon Kim is the largest shareholder with 26% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.2% and 6.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 12 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Paik Kwang Industrial

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Paik Kwang Industrial Co., Ltd.. Insiders own ₩91b worth of shares in the ₩342b 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of Paik Kwang Industrial shares. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 17%, of the Paik Kwang Industrial 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Paik Kwang Industrial (of which 3 are significant!) you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.