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

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.33.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSV. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstService by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstService during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of FirstService by 49.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstService in the third quarter worth $217,000. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Stock Down 1.2 %

FSV stock opened at $178.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.53 and a beta of 1.04. FirstService has a one year low of $141.26 and a one year high of $197.84.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. FirstService had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 2.19%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that FirstService will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. FirstService’s payout ratio is currently 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.