Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:005070) biggest owners are retail investors who got richer after stock soared 21% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• 17% of Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology Co., Ltd. (KRX:005070), 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 53% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, retail investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 21% gain.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology. Cosmo Chemical Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. With 3.9% and 2.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Pension Service and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology Co., Ltd.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own ₩42b worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 53% stake in Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 27% of Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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 2 warning signs for Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.