Yahoo Finance With 41% ownership, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) insiders have a lot riding on the company's future
Key Insights
Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Maple Leaf Foods' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
The top 2 shareholders own 51% of the company
Every investor in Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSE:MFI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 41% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
So, insiders of Maple Leaf Foods have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Maple Leaf Foods, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Maple Leaf Foods
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Maple Leaf Foods?
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.
Maple Leaf Foods 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 Maple Leaf Foods' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Maple Leaf Foods. The company's CEO Michael McCain is the largest shareholder with 40% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 2.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and Franklin Resources, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Maple Leaf Foods
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. 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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Maple Leaf Foods Inc.. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful CA$1.4b stake in this CA$3.3b business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Maple Leaf Foods better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Maple Leaf Foods you should be aware of.
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.
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