Individual investors invested in Maiden Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MHLD) copped the brunt of last week's US$46m market cap decline

Key Insights

• Maiden Holdings' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insider ownership in Maiden Holdings is 17%

Every investor in Maiden Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MHLD) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 32% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, individual investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 12%.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Maiden Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Maiden Holdings?

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.

We can see that Maiden Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Maiden Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Maiden Holdings. Maiden Reinsurance Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 29% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.6% and 5.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. In addition, we found that Patrick Haveron, the CEO has 1.5% of the shares allocated to their name.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Maiden Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 maintain a significant holding in Maiden Holdings, Ltd.. Insiders have a US$56m stake in this US$322m business. 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 32% 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 29%, 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. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Maiden Holdings (including 2 which are a bit concerning) .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.