Public companies invested in Gwangju Shinsegae. Co. ,Ltd. (KRX:037710) copped the brunt of last week's ₩26b market cap decline

Key Insights

• Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The largest shareholder of the company is SHINSEGAE Inc. with a 63% stake
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Gwangju Shinsegae. Co. ,Ltd. (KRX:037710), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 63% to be precise, is public companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And following last week's 11% decline in share price, public companies suffered the most losses.

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

See our latest analysis for Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd is not owned by hedge funds. SHINSEGAE Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 63% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.0% and 1.0% of the stock.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd

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 less than 1% of Gwangju Shinsegae. Co. ,Ltd.. It seems the board members have no more than ₩8.0m worth of shares in the ₩211b company. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 29% stake in Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 63% of the Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Gwangju Shinsegae. Ltd has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.