Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Fairfax India Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy

• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership

• Insiders have bought recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation (TSE:FIH.U), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 36% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by US$169m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Fairfax India Holdings.

View our latest analysis for Fairfax India Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fairfax India Holdings?

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.

Fairfax India Holdings 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 Fairfax India Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Fairfax India Holdings. Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 33% of shares outstanding. OMERS Administration Corporation is the second largest shareholder owning 15% of common stock, and Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. holds about 4.2% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Fairfax India Holdings

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.