FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.67.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FSV. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

FirstService Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FirstService stock opened at $186.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $179.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.53. FirstService has a 1 year low of $134.77 and a 1 year high of $189.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.56 and a beta of 1.05.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 1.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that FirstService will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in FirstService by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 148,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,162,000 after acquiring an additional 6,995 shares in the last quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of FirstService by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 250,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,737,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of FirstService by 105.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of FirstService by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 17,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 4,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstService during the 2nd quarter valued at $216,000. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.