Institutional investors control 37% of Hy-Lok Corporation (KOSDAQ:013030) and were rewarded last week after stock increased 15%

Simply Wall St · 04/15 06:02

Key Insights

  • Institutions' substantial holdings in Hy-Lok implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
  • 54% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
  • Insider ownership in Hy-Lok is 31%
We've discovered 1 warning sign about Hy-Lok. View them for free.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hy-Lok Corporation (KOSDAQ:013030), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Last week’s 15% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 19% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Hy-Lok.

View our latest analysis for Hy-Lok

ownership-breakdown
KOSDAQ:A013030 Ownership Breakdown April 15th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hy-Lok?

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 Hy-Lok. 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 Hy-Lok's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
KOSDAQ:A013030 Earnings and Revenue Growth April 15th 2025

Hy-Lok is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Hy-Lok's case, its Co-Chief Executive Officer, Hyu-Gun Moon, is the largest shareholder, holding 24% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 10.0% and 7.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Young-Hoon Moon is the owner of 4.4% of the company's shares.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 54% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. 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 Hy-Lok

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.

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 Hy-Lok Corporation. Insiders have a ₩111b stake in this ₩354b business. 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

With a 25% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hy-Lok. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 6.7%, of the Hy-Lok 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Hy-Lok that you should be aware of before investing here.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.