Short Interest in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Grows By 6.3%

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 506,200 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the October 15th total of 476,300 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 56,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.0 days.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSV. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in FirstService by 658.5% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,987,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstService by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,248,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in FirstService by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of FirstService by 2.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 139,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,233,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSV opened at $152.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.64 and a beta of 1.04. FirstService has a 1 year low of $118.11 and a 1 year high of $163.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.57.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 20.51%. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstService will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th were given a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 28th. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of FirstService from $177.00 to $174.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of FirstService from $173.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 30th. TheStreet upgraded FirstService from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on FirstService from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstService currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.50.

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. The company operates in two segments, FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands. The FirstService Residential segment offers property management 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.