FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Short Interest Update

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 165,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the December 15th total of 138,600 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 89,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

FirstService Stock Up 1.3 %

FSV stock traded up $2.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $182.36. 65,852 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,129. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $185.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.98 and a beta of 1.06. FirstService has a 52-week low of $141.26 and a 52-week high of $197.84.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company’s revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FirstService will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. FirstService’s payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of FirstService in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of FirstService in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 35.0% in the second 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 acquired a new stake in shares of FirstService in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 49.6% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 69.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.