With 52% ownership, insiders at First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI) are pretty optimistic and have been buying recently
Simply Wall St
Tue, February 10, 2026 at 5:51 AM EST
4 min read
In this article:
Key Insights
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Significant insider control over First Guaranty Bancshares implies vested interests in company growth
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A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FGBI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
It's interesting to note that insiders have been buying shares recently. This could signal that stock prices could go up and insiders are here for it.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of First Guaranty Bancshares, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for First Guaranty Bancshares
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About First Guaranty Bancshares?
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.
First Guaranty Bancshares 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 First Guaranty Bancshares' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
First Guaranty Bancshares is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Edgar Smith with 24% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 17% and 7.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. William Hood, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.
Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 55% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.
Story Continues
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of First Guaranty Bancshares
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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 that insiders own more than half the First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means they own US$75m worth of shares in the US$146m company. That's quite meaningful. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 34% stake in First Guaranty Bancshares. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 9.1%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand First Guaranty Bancshares better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for First Guaranty Bancshares (1 doesn't sit too well with us) that you should be aware of.
Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.
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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