Aggressive pick can still go higher

Article Excerpt

With the April 2020 issue, we promoted real estate services firm FirstService to our Aggressive Growth Portfolio from its original spot as a Power Growth Investor pick. Since then, the stock has jumped 87% as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted homeowners and businesses to upgrade their properties. FirstService is also taking advantage of the uncertainty to make attractive acquisitions. The company’s long-term outlook continues to improve. Rising housing starts and real estate values in the U.S. and Canada bode well for future renovation projects. In addition, the company’s “asset light” model keeps its capital spending costs down and frees up its cash for new investments. We feel FirstService will continue to move higher over the next few years. Still, given its growth-by-acquisition strategy and high p/e, we think the stock is best suited for aggressive investors. FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $239 is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol FSV; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 43.9 million; Market cap: $10.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8;…