Both individual investors who control a good portion of Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:HYMC) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's 30% decrease

Key Insights

• Hycroft Mining Holding's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 36% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:HYMC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 42% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions, who own 10% shares weren’t spared from last week’s US$5.3m 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 Hycroft Mining Holding.

Check out our latest analysis for Hycroft Mining Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hycroft Mining Holding?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Hycroft Mining Holding does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Hycroft Mining Holding, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hycroft Mining Holding. Eric Sprott is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.8% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.4% and 3.4% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Diane Garrett directly holds 0.6% of the total shares outstanding.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 Hycroft Mining Holding

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$9.3m worth of the US$116m 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 42% stake in Hycroft Mining Holding. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 6.2% of Hycroft Mining Holding stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hycroft Mining Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 7 warning signs for Hycroft Mining Holding you should be aware of, and 4 of them are concerning.

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.