Individual investors invested in First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) copped the brunt of last week's US$12m market cap decline

Key Insights

• First Guaranty Bancshares' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 51% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
• Insiders own 34% of First Guaranty Bancshares

If you want to know who really controls First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 43% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While insiders, who own 34% shares weren’t spared from last week’s US$12m market cap drop, individual investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of First Guaranty Bancshares.

View our latest analysis for First Guaranty Bancshares

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About First Guaranty Bancshares?

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.

First Guaranty Bancshares already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 First Guaranty Bancshares' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in First Guaranty Bancshares. Marshall Reynolds is currently the largest shareholder, with 22% of shares outstanding. Smith & Hood Holding Company, L.L.C. is the second largest shareholder owning 9.3% of common stock, and Edgar Smith holds about 7.8% of the company stock. Edgar Smith, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. In addition, we found that Alton Lewis, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of First Guaranty Bancshares

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc.. Insiders own US$38m worth of shares in the US$112m company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 43% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 16%, 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for First Guaranty Bancshares (1 doesn't sit too well with us) that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.