Danaos Corporation's (NYSE:DAC) most bullish insider, CEO John Coustas must be pleased with the recent 5.7% gain

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Danaos' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• 23% of Danaos is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Danaos Corporation (NYSE:DAC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 49% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by US$88m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Danaos.

See our latest analysis for Danaos

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Danaos?

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

Danaos is not owned by hedge funds. With a 47% stake, CEO John Coustas is the largest shareholder. Acadian Asset Management LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 4.1% of common stock, and RBF Capital LLC holds about 2.2% of the company 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.

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 some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Danaos

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.

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 Danaos Corporation. Insiders own US$775m worth of shares in the US$1.6b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 28% stake in Danaos. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Danaos better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Danaos you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.