FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) Short Interest Update

FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 835,655 shares, a decline of 56.3% from the August 31st total of 1,912,255 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 203,927 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

FirstService Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FSV traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $128.81. 77,613 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.93. FirstService has a 1-year low of $119.41 and a 1-year high of $191.70.

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

FirstService Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of FirstService during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,597,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstService by 19.9% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,405,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,289,000 after acquiring an additional 233,043 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in FirstService during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,487,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in FirstService by 16.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,587,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,560,000 after acquiring an additional 219,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in FirstService by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 421,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,645,000 after acquiring an additional 133,632 shares during the period. 69.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSV. Scotiabank set a $170.00 price objective on FirstService in a research note on Friday, July 24th. TD lifted their price target on FirstService from $204.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of FirstService from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of FirstService in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of FirstService in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.20.

About FirstService

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.