FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Short Interest Update

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 293,900 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the August 31st total of 275,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 85,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

FirstService Stock Performance

Shares of FSV opened at $182.31 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 90.25 and a beta of 1.05. FirstService has a one year low of $134.77 and a one year high of $183.86.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 1.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that FirstService will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. FirstService’s payout ratio is 49.50%.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSV. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstService during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstService by 8,066.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in FirstService by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in FirstService by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of FirstService from $178.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on FirstService from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on FirstService from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.50.

About FirstService

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.