FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.33.

A number of research firms have commented on FSV. StockNews.com upgraded FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of FirstService by 8,066.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in FirstService in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in FirstService by 35.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstService during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Stock Down 1.1 %

FirstService stock opened at $192.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.94. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 80.02 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. FirstService has a 1-year low of $141.26 and a 1-year high of $197.84.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business’s revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstService will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.67%.

About FirstService

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.