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

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 245,500 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 318,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 141,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of FirstService stock traded up $3.96 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $169.91. 45,787 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,526. FirstService has a 52-week low of $141.26 and a 52-week high of $197.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.15 and a beta of 1.12.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FSV. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstService currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.67.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in FirstService by 486.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,308,000 after purchasing an additional 389,129 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of FirstService by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,634,000 after buying an additional 10,191 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of FirstService by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,138,000 after buying an additional 166,996 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 253.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in FirstService by 65.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 8,348 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstService Company Profile

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.