Latest news with #SumitomoOsakaCement
Japan Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Traders scouring annual meeting filings for traces of activist shareholdings
Traders are scouring notices of annual general meetings to pick up signals about activist holdings in Japanese companies, and profit from potential spikes in stock prices. Tucked away at the bottom of a company's annual general shareholder notices is a list of the firm's top 10 shareholders, which includes names of the investors or custodians that may hint at possible activist involvement. Sumitomo Osaka Cement and auto parts manufacturer KYB were among stocks that jumped last week after activist investor Aya Nomura's name appeared in annual general meeting (AGM) letters, listed as a stakeholder. Activist investors are growing their influence in Japan, having started 89 campaigns this year compared with last year's total of 153, according to compiled data. Most campaigns demand disposal of real estate, changes in strategy and stock buybacks. The AGM filings, usually released at around 8 a.m. Tokyo time, can be a window to identify large shareholders, some of whom may be activists taking exposure to push for higher investor returns in undervalued and cash-rich companies with low price-to-book ratios. At times it is tricky to determine the identity of the investor, who may be acting through an agent. A recent case involving an account on social media platform X, going by the user name Maron, underscores the complexity of figuring out identities. The Maron handle posted a screenshot of top shareholders of J. Front Retailing, including a name of a custodian that Maron speculated was linked to an activist, triggering a share price rally which spilled over to the rest of the sector. Maron didn't provide any detail on his or her identity or background in the account's response to a request for comment. "Shares tend to rise on expectations shareholder returns will increase,' as activist investors often target cash-rich companies to push for better capital allocation, said Sohei Takeuchi, a senior portfolio manager at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management. He added that companies and activists are more aligned than before following the Tokyo Stock Exchange's push to raise corporate value. More than 80% of Tokyo-listed companies, whose fiscal year ends in March, are expected to hold shareholder meetings in the last five days of June, according to a release from the Japan Exchange Group. Their shares will be closely watched in the days ahead, with the law requiring them to post notices at least two weeks before the meetings.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Traders Scour Annual Meeting Filings for Activist Clues in Japan
Traders are scouring notices of annual general meetings to pick up signals about activist holdings in Japanese companies and profit from potential spikes in stock prices. Tucked away at the bottom of company's annual general shareholder notice is a list of firms' top 10 shareholders, which provides names of the investors or custodians that hint at possible activist involvement. Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. and auto parts maker KYB Corp. were among stocks that jumped last week after activist investor Aya Nomura's name appeared in the AGM letter, listed as a stakeholder.
