Yahoo Finance Mainfreight Limited (NZSE:MFT) most popular amongst retail investors who own 51% of the shares, institutions hold 30%
Key Insights
Mainfreight's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
The top 25 shareholders own 47% of the company
A look at the shareholders of Mainfreight Limited (NZSE:MFT) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And institutions on the other hand have a 30% ownership in the company. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Mainfreight.
Check out our latest analysis for Mainfreight
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mainfreight?
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 Mainfreight 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 Mainfreight's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Mainfreight. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Bruce Plested (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 15% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. Fisher Funds Management Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 4.8% of common stock, and JPMorgan Chase & Co, Private Banking and Investment Banking Investments holds about 3.3% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Donald Braid, the CEO has 2.9% of the shares allocated to their name.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 Mainfreight
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Mainfreight Limited. Insiders own NZ$1.2b worth of shares in the NZ$6.8b company. That's quite meaningful. 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 51% of Mainfreight shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Mainfreight better, we need to consider many other factors.
I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
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.
