Mayfair Gold Corp.'s (CVE:MFG) largest shareholders are individual investors with 57% ownership, insiders own 25%
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by individual investors in Mayfair Gold indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 43% ownership
If you want to know who really controls Mayfair Gold Corp. (CVE:MFG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Meanwhile, individual insiders make up 25% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Mayfair Gold.
View our latest analysis for Mayfair Gold
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mayfair Gold?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Mayfair Gold. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Mayfair Gold's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
It would appear that 13% of Mayfair Gold shares are controlled by hedge funds. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Our data shows that Henry Heeney is the largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 8.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Muddy Waters Capital LLC and Sean Pi are the second and third largest shareholders. Sean Pi, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. In addition, we found that Patrick Evans, the CEO has 1.0% of the shares allocated to their name.
Our studies suggest that the top 12 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.
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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
Insider Ownership Of Mayfair Gold
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Mayfair Gold Corp.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$216m, and insiders have CA$54m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 57% of Mayfair Gold. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Mayfair Gold better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Mayfair Gold (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.
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.
