FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 275,800 shares, an increase of 27.2% from the May 31st total of 216,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 93,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

FirstService Trading Down 0.2 %

FSV opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. FirstService has a one year low of $134.77 and a one year high of $171.94. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.26.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 2.02%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FirstService will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstService in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in FirstService by 25.9% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new stake in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FSV. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on FirstService from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Scotiabank began coverage on FirstService in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstService has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.60.

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.