Small acquisitions are a key strategy

Article Excerpt

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $190 is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol FSV; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 43.6 million; Market cap: $8.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 0.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.firstservice.com) tends to fuel its growth with acquisitions. It cuts the risk of this strategy by focusing on smaller businesses that expand its market share and geographic reach. The company’s latest purchases are Edmonton-based Spectrum Restoration Services Ltd. and Trilink Restoration Services, LLC of Oklahoma City. Both firms help homeowners and businesses rebuild their premises after natural disasters, fires and floods. FirstService hasn’t said how much it paid for these businesses. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, strong housing markets in Canada and the U.S. continue to spur demand for home-renovation services. As a result, the stock is now up over 48% since we added FirstService to our coverage in the April 2020 issue. FirstService is still a buy for aggressive investors. investors…