Korea Asset In Trust is a specialized real-estate trust company that has operated since 1991. When a landowner entrusts their land, the company handles the whole project on their behalf, from funding and construction to sales and post-completion management, and collects trust fees. Its core lines are borrowed-type and management-type land trust and urban-redevelopment work, a service-style financial business that earns fees and development profit by carrying out other parties' real-estate development. In June 2026 there was a disclosure of a lawsuit above a set threshold; at the March annual general meeting the CEO changed and the company maintained its ₩150-per-share (about 7%) dividend stance; and the May Q1 report showed revenue up but operating profit down. On the plus side, it keeps posting a profit and a roughly 7% dividend even through the downcycle, trades at a P/B of 0.24x with a low forward P/E, and has an ROE (4.6% vs. peers' ~2.0%) ahead of comparable names, making it read as an undervalued name that also carries profitability. Points to weigh are the pace at which rising revenue converts into margin, the ongoing lawsuit, and the sensitivity of results to the housing-sales cycle.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- For financial companies, debt and interest costs are large by the nature of the business, so the debt ratio and interest coverage cannot be read on the same yardstick as an ordinary company.
- Revenue fell 9.8% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 32.6% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 4.6% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 16.8%.
- The P/E sits below the sector median.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder MDM 28.76% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 54.33%
With the controlling bloc holding 54%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Korea Asset In Trust is a specialized real-estate trust company that has operated since 1991.
- Its basic revenue structure is this: when a landowner entrusts their land to the trust company, the trust company carries out the whole project, from funding through construction, sales, and post-completion management, and in return collects a trust fee.
- Its core businesses are 'borrowed-type land trust,' in which the trust company itself raises construction funds, develops the project, and takes the development profit; 'management-type land trust,' in which the entrusting party provides the funds and the trust company only manages the project as the developer; and 'urban-redevelopment work,' carrying out redevelopment and reconstruction on behalf of clients.
- Alongside these it also handles ancillary work such as collateral trust, sales-management trust, and agency services.
- In other words, it is not a company that owns its own real estate and earns rent, but a 'service-style financial' business that earns fees and development profit by carrying out other parties' real-estate development projects.
- The recent closing price is ₩2,190 and market capitalization is ₩268.0 billion.
- The price sits below both the 20-day line (₩2,230) and the 60-day line (₩2,398).
- Trading below both its short- and medium-term moving averages, the trend is subdued.
- RSI (an auxiliary indicator that gauges upward versus downward momentum over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 44.9, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -1.4%, the three-month change is -12.9%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -27.6%.
- Relative strength versus KOSPI is 20 (1-99, computed from returns against the index over the past year with recent periods weighted more heavily; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 80% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 32.3%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- The valuation metrics point to undervaluation on both assets and earnings.
- The P/E (how many times one year's earnings the price represents) is 5.43x, and the P/B (how many times net assets the price represents) is 0.25x, trading at about a quarter of net assets.
- The forward P/E based on this year's expected profit is also clearly lower than peers, so the price remains cheap relative to earnings.
- The dividend yield is around 7% (₩150 per share) and the payout ratio is about 37%, returning a substantial share of profit as dividends.
- Profitability is solid, with ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) of 4.6%, higher than peers, an operating margin of 16.8%, and a net margin of 24.2%.
- One thing to note: because real-estate trusts structurally carry large debt and interest expense through items such as trust-account lending, a debt ratio (debt against equity) of 160% or an interest-coverage ratio of 0.86 should not be read as risk the way the same figures would be for ordinary manufacturing.
- Given the nature of the financial business, the finances are reasonable.
- Top-line revenue has been shrinking under the real-estate cycle.
- Revenue fell from ₩259.1 billion in 2023 to ₩226.4 billion in 2024 and ₩204.3 billion in 2025, and operating profit, which reflects core-business earnings, likewise declined from ₩116.7 billion to ₩51.8 billion to ₩34.2 billion.
- This directly reflects an environment in which a contracting housing-sales market cut trust fees and raised cost burdens.
- Net profit, however, turned the corner off the bottom, rising +32% from ₩37.4 billion in 2024 to ₩49.4 billion in 2025.
- The most striking change came in Q1 2026, when cumulative revenue rose +32.6% year on year, expanding the top line again.
- The forward P/E based on this year's expected profit reflects both this top-line recovery and asset value; it is not a conservative estimate assuming lower profit but a figure that captures a phase in which the sales and development flow is firming.
- That said, Q1 operating profit was still -39.2%, so the recovery in core-business margin lags the top line by a beat, and the pace at which top-line growth carries through to profit needs to be checked quarter by quarter.
- Recent disclosures fall into two strands.
- The first concerns disputes: in June 2026 there was a disclosure (a filing correction) of a lawsuit above a set threshold.
- Because real-estate trusts can face disputes with contractors, associations, and lenders during development projects, the progress of litigation is worth watching on the cost and reputation fronts.
- The second concerns shareholder returns and governance: the CEO changed at the March annual general meeting, the ₩150-per-share dividend stance (yield about 7%, payout ratio about 37%) was maintained, and the May corporate-governance report and Q1 report were filed.
- In the Q1 report revenue rose year on year while operating profit fell, useful for judging when the top-line recovery carries through to profit.
- As shown by the large-business-group status disclosure, it operates as an affiliate within its parent group structure.
- The strengths are clear.
- Even through a downcycle in which core-business profit is depressed, it keeps posting a profit and a dividend of around 7%; the P/B of 0.24x is about a quarter of net assets, and the forward P/E is lower than peers.
- On both an asset basis and this year's earnings the price is cheap, and with an ROE (4.6% vs. peers' ~2.0%) ahead of the sector, this is not simply a 'cheap stock' but an undervalued one that carries profitability.
- The point to flag is the pace of recovery in core operating profit.
- Revenue rose again in Q1 but operating profit is still falling, so watching top-line growth spill over into margin is the key thing to observe.
- The ongoing lawsuit, and the fact that results are directly tied to the housing-sales cycle, must also be weighed.
- In sum, as the sales and development flow firms, the top-line recovery, undervaluation versus assets, and high dividend work as strengths, while a prolonged slowdown or an escalating dispute delaying the recovery in core profit is the weak link.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
Compared against listed trust companies that likewise specialize in real-estate trust, with Korea Land Trust, whose business mix (land trust, management-type, urban redevelopment) is most similar, taken as the direct comparable.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea Land Trust | 13.27x | 0.27x | 2.02% |
On asset value (P/B of 0.27x) it trades at about a quarter of net assets, a large discount. Its P/B is similar to that of its direct comparable Korea Land Trust (0.3x), but Korea Asset In Trust is ahead on ROE (4.6% vs. 2.0%) and profit stability and also has a higher dividend yield. The P/E (5.82x) is lower than peers and on a simple comparison looks cheap, but the catch is that it is on a trailing (last year's confirmed results) basis. Given that operating profit has fallen for three straight years and was still -39% in Q1 2026, on a forward (this year's expected profit) basis the multiple rises, so the asset-side undervaluation and the earnings-side slowdown offset each other. We therefore view it as 'Fairly valued' rather than firmly calling it cheap or expensive, and see the real-estate cycle and the direction of core profit as the key to any re-valuation.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩2,190 and the market capitalization is ₩268.0 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩2,230) and below its 60-day moving average (₩2,398). It is under both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks subdued. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 44.9, a neutral level. The one-month change is -1.4%, the three-month change is -12.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -27.6%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 20 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 20% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 32.3%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M -32.30% / 6M -43.95% / 12M -63.65%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 5.43x is below the sector median (12.68x). The P/B of 0.25x is below the sector median (0.66x). Both metrics are low versus peers, so the price is not expensive relative to earnings and assets.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 4.6%, below the sector average (6.0%). The operating margin is 16.8%. The debt ratio is 160.5%, but for financial firms deposits and insurance liabilities count as debt, so it cannot be read on the same yardstick as an ordinary company.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $171.7M | $150.1M | $135.4M | -9.79% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $77.3M | $34.3M | $22.7M | -33.88% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $85.9M | $24.8M | $32.7M | +31.95% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | $171.7M | $150.1M | $135.4M |
| Operating profit | — | — | $77.3M | $34.3M | $22.7M |
| Net profit | — | — | $85.9M | $24.8M | $32.7M |
| Revenue CAGR | 2-yr avg -11.20% | ||||
Revenue fell 9.8% year over year (2023 ₩259.1 billion → 2024 ₩226.4 billion → 2025 ₩204.3 billion), and the three-year trend is 'falling'. That said, the rate of decline narrowed from the prior year. Operating profit fell 33.9% year over year. That said, the decline narrowed. Over the 3 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -11.2%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -11.2%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 32.6% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
- The dividend yield, at 6.9%, is on the high side.
Points to watch
- Revenue fell 9.8% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-06-04UpdateDisclosure of a lawsuit above a set threshold (filing correction). Notice that a lawsuit presumed to relate to a real-estate-trust dispute is under way.Near-term uncertainty on provisions, litigation costs, and reputation. Depending on the outcome, a potential effect on medium-term profit and loss. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 quarterly report filed. Cumulative revenue ₩68.8 billion (+32.6% YoY), operating profit ₩10.8 billion (-39.2% YoY), net profit ₩12.2 billion (-14.0% YoY), with the top line up and profit down.Confirms the continued slowdown in core-business profit. A phase in which top-line growth does not immediately carry through to profit. Source
- 2026-03-26DividendAnnual general meeting results and CEO change. ₩150-per-share dividend (yield about 6.4%, payout ratio about 37%) stance maintained.Shareholder-return policy maintained despite the earnings slowdown. A basis for its high-dividend appeal, though dividend capacity needs checking if profit falls further. Source
- 2026-03-18Filing2025 annual report and audit report filed. Annual revenue ₩204.3 billion (-9.8%), operating profit ₩34.2 billion (-33.9%), net profit ₩49.4 billion (+32.0%) confirmed.Officially confirms three straight years of declining revenue and operating profit. The net-profit rebound reflects a base effect. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-04Litigation disclosure (amended)
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-03-30OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-03-30OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-26OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-18PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-18Audit report
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.