YG Entertainment Inc.'s (KOSDAQ:122870) market cap up ₩143b last week, benefiting both individual investors who own 48% as well as insiders

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in YG Entertainment indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insider ownership in YG Entertainment is 23%

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

A look at the shareholders of YG Entertainment Inc. (KOSDAQ:122870) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 48% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 7.9% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but insiders who own 23% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of YG Entertainment.

See our latest analysis for YG Entertainment

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About YG Entertainment?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

YG Entertainment already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of YG Entertainment, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in YG Entertainment. Hyun Suk Yang is currently the largest shareholder, with 19% of shares outstanding. NAVER Corporation is the second largest shareholder owning 9.0% of common stock, and National Pension Service holds about 7.5% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Min-Suk Yang is the owner of 3.5% of the company's shares.

We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of YG Entertainment

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 a reasonable proportion of YG Entertainment Inc.. Insiders own ₩453b worth of shares in the ₩2.0t company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 48% stake in YG Entertainment. 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

Public companies currently own 13% of YG Entertainment stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.