FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) Short Interest Update

FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 835,655 shares, a decrease of 56.3% from the August 31st total of 1,912,255 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 203,927 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in FirstService by 52.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 191,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,672,000 after buying an additional 65,830 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of FirstService by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 240,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,390,000 after acquiring an additional 18,146 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in FirstService by 59.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,806,000 after purchasing an additional 23,577 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in FirstService by 27.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 138,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,239,000 after purchasing an additional 29,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstService by 13.9% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 66,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 8,084 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on FSV shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $204.00 price objective on shares of FirstService in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of FirstService in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of FirstService in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Scotiabank set a $170.00 price objective on shares of FirstService in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of FirstService from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstService has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.20.

FirstService Price Performance

FirstService stock opened at $129.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. FirstService has a 52-week low of $119.41 and a 52-week high of $191.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $138.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.54.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 2.88%.The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that FirstService will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.3050 dividend. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.56%.

FirstService Company Profile

FirstService Corporation is a property services company serving residential and commercial property owners, residents, and businesses primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two main divisions: FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands.

FirstService Residential provides property management services for condominium, cooperative, homeowners, and other residential communities. Its services include community association management, property maintenance, financial administration, compliance support, and resident services.

FirstService Brands operates a network of service businesses that support property repair, maintenance, improvement, and restoration.