The recent 7.0% gain must have brightened CEO Wesley Maas' week, MAAS Group Holdings Limited's (ASX:MGH) most bullish insider

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over MAAS Group Holdings implies vested interests in company growth
• 53% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in MAAS Group Holdings Limited (ASX:MGH) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 59% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit AU$1.2b market cap following a 7.0% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of MAAS Group Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for MAAS Group Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MAAS Group Holdings?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

MAAS Group Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 MAAS Group Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

MAAS Group Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. With a 40% stake, CEO Wesley Maas is the largest shareholder. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 3.9% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of MAAS Group Holdings

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.

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of MAAS Group Holdings Limited. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own AU$711m worth of shares in the AU$1.2b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over MAAS Group Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.8%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand MAAS Group Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for MAAS Group Holdings (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.