-- Stifel Canada is slightly positive on FirstService (FSV.TO, FSV) after it reported first-quarter results that were a slight beat.
Analyst Daryl Young, who is maintaining a buy rating and US$215.000 on the shares of the company, said it was "well-telegraphed" that the first quarter would be a slower start to the year as management focused on shedding low-margin residential contracts, coupled with ongoing roofing headwinds.
The first quarter is also seasonally the weakest quarter of the year so the margin impacts in roofing were more amplified, Young added.
"We expect roofing to remain a drag this year given weak commercial construction activity that has caused heightened competition for repair/replace work (recall ~2/3rds of industry demand is repair and replace over a full cycle). However, our roofing survey work points to a stabilization of the industry (at trough levels)," he writes
Price: $200.72, Change: $-3.83, Percent Change: -1.87%