Short Interest in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Drops By 13.5%

by · The Markets Daily

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV – Get Free Report) (TSE:FSV) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 146,400 shares, a decline of 13.5% from the October 15th total of 169,300 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 78,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

FirstService Stock Up 0.5 %

FSV traded up $0.90 on Friday, reaching $186.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 171,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,224. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. FirstService has a fifty-two week low of $141.26 and a fifty-two week high of $192.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.13.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV – Get Free Report) (TSE:FSV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. FirstService’s quarterly revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstService will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FSV. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.33.

Check Out Our Latest Report on FirstService

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 4.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,144,000 after buying an additional 10,213 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of FirstService in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,238,000. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the third quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 47.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 62,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,426,000 after purchasing an additional 20,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 65.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 8,348 shares during the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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