Both retail investors who control a good portion of Maha Energy AB (publ) (STO:MAHA A) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's 13% decrease

Key Insights

• Significant control over Maha Energy by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 19 investors have a majority stake in the company with 49% ownership
• Institutions own 33% of Maha Energy

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Maha Energy AB (publ) (STO:MAHA A), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 51% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While institutions who own 33% came under pressure after market cap dropped to kr1.5b last week,retail investors took the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Maha Energy, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Maha Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Maha Energy?

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.

Maha Energy 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Maha Energy's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Maha Energy is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is SOCOPA - Sociedade Corretora Paulista S.A., Asset Management Arm, with ownership of 16%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.0% and 4.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Our studies suggest that the top 19 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Maha Energy

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Maha Energy AB (publ). In their own names, insiders own kr40m worth of stock in the kr1.5b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 51% stake in Maha Energy, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 13%, of the shares on issue. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Maha Energy , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.