YES24 Co.,Ltd's (KOSDAQ:053280) market cap surged ₩36b last week, public companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• Significant control over YES24Ltd by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Hansae Yes24 Holdings Co., Ltd)
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls YES24 Co.,Ltd (KOSDAQ:053280), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 50% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit ₩147b market cap following a 33% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about YES24Ltd.

View our latest analysis for YES24Ltd

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About YES24Ltd?

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 multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. YES24Ltd'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 YES24Ltd. Our data shows that Hansae Yes24 Holdings Co., Ltd is the largest shareholder with 50% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 3.1% and 1.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Dong-Nyung Kim and Seok Kim are the second and third largest shareholders. Seok Kim, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

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

Insider Ownership Of YES24Ltd

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

We can see that insiders own shares in YES24 Co.,Ltd. In their own names, insiders own ₩8.3b worth of stock in the ₩147b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 44% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over YES24Ltd. 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 50% of YES24Ltd. 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:

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 YES24Ltd (of which 2 are concerning!) 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.