Q: I would appreciate an updated view of Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. Thanks!
5i Research Answer:
FC continues to chug along. It is a competitive field, and the company is fairly small, but priced well at 11X earnings with an 8% dividend. Note the dividend has not changed in at least 10 years, but it does pay occasional special dividends (5.4 cents at the end of 2023, for example). There is not much growth expected, so this trades primarily on yield. It is very sensitive to the housing market and interest rates. The former is entering some weakness, but with three interest rate cuts already in Canada there is some positivity. In has managed cycles well, and has made money every year for 24 years. But as noted, EPS is not really much higher than it was 20 years ago.