FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,600 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the November 30th total of 147,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FSV shares. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.33.

FirstService Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSV traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,334. FirstService has a fifty-two week low of $141.26 and a fifty-two week high of $197.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. FirstService had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 2.19%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that FirstService will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSV. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstService by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of FirstService in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in FirstService by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstService in the third quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in FirstService by 45.3% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Company Profile

FirstService Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides residential property management and other essential property services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands. The FirstService Residential segment offers services for private residential communities, such as condominiums, co-operatives, homeowner associations, master-planned communities, active adult and lifestyle communities, and various other residential developments.