Yahoo Finance While institutions own 33% of MTY Food Group Inc. (TSE:MTY), individual investors are its largest shareholders with 47% ownership
A look at the shareholders of MTY Food Group Inc. (TSE:MTY) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And institutions on the other hand have a 33% ownership in the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of MTY Food Group, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for MTY Food Group
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MTY Food Group?
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.
MTY Food Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 MTY Food Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in MTY Food Group. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In MTY Food Group's case, its President, Stanley Ma, is the largest shareholder, holding 16% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Fidelity International Ltd and FMR LLC, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 10%.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 17 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of MTY Food Group
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 a reasonable proportion of MTY Food Group Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$1.5b, and insiders have CA$283m worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. 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 47% 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.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand MTY Food Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for MTY Food Group you should be aware of.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.
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