Every investor in Maya Gold and Silver Inc. (TSE:MYA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Warren Buffett said that he likes ‘a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people’. So it’s nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.
With a market capitalization of CA$179m, Maya Gold and Silver is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Maya Gold and Silver.
View 4 warning signs we detected for Maya Gold and Silver
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Maya Gold and Silver?
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.
Less than 5% of Maya Gold and Silver is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.
Hedge funds don’t have many shares in Maya Gold and Silver. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Noureddine Mokaddem with 14% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 2.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Robert Taub and Nikolaos Sofronis are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, Nikolaos Sofronis is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company’s top shareholders.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 8 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. 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 Maya Gold and Silver
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Maya Gold and Silver Inc.. Insiders own CA$52m worth of shares in the CA$179m company. Ownership is clearly an important issue when it comes to investment selection. But ultimately, many risks exist within the business itself, rather than its shareholders. For example, we’ve discovered 4 warning signs for Maya Gold and Silver (of which 1 is major) which any shareholder or potential investor should be aware of.
General Public Ownership
The general public — mostly retail investors — own 69% of Maya Gold and Silver. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Next Steps:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Maya Gold and Silver better, we need to consider many other factors.
I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow for free.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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