FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Short Interest Update

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in 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 short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 141,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FSV. StockNews.com lowered FirstService from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.67.

FirstService Trading Down 3.5 %

FSV traded down $5.83 on Friday, reaching $161.18. 62,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,853. 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 company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.29 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.06. FirstService has a one year low of $141.26 and a one year high of $197.84.

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FirstService Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. FirstService's payout ratio is 37.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSV. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstService by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of FirstService in the 3rd quarter valued at $342,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of FirstService by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in FirstService by 7.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in FirstService by 2.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,554,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.35% of the company's stock.

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.