Key Insights

• Maui Land & Pineapple Company's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion

• Stephen Case owns 61% of the company

• Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. (NYSE:MLP) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 65% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And insiders own the top position in the company’s share registry despite recent sales.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Maui Land & Pineapple Company.

See our latest analysis for Maui Land & Pineapple Company

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Maui Land & Pineapple Company?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Maui Land & Pineapple Company already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Maui Land & Pineapple Company's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Maui Land & Pineapple Company is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Stephen Case is the largest shareholder with 61% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.4% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Warren Haruki, the CEO has 2.7% of the shares allocated to their name.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Maui Land & Pineapple Company

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of US$180m, that means they have US$117m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Maui Land & Pineapple Company. 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 Maui Land & Pineapple Company better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Maui Land & Pineapple Company that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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