FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Separately, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.67.

FirstService Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSV opened at $170.79 on Friday. FirstService has a 12 month low of $141.26 and a 12 month high of $197.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $178.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.51 and a beta of 1.12.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in FirstService during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,615,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in FirstService by 486.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,308,000 after buying an additional 389,129 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstService during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,541,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in FirstService by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 656,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,767,000 after buying an additional 229,889 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in FirstService by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,138,000 after buying an additional 166,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

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.