FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Short Interest Down 22.8% in March

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 245,500 shares, a decrease of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 318,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 141,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FSV. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of FirstService during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in FirstService during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Natixis raised its position in FirstService by 5,511.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of FirstService during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FSV shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company 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 note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.67.

FirstService Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of FSV stock traded down $0.24 on Monday, reaching $165.54. 26,146 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,912. FirstService has a 1-year low of $141.26 and a 1-year high of $197.84. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.51 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.42.

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 paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

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.