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.
NasdaqGM:FGBI Ownership Breakdown February 10th 2026
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.
NasdaqGM:FGBI Earnings and Revenue Growth February 10th 2026
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
