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

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.33.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FSV shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Securities increased their target price on FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in FirstService by 3.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in FirstService by 20.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in FirstService by 3.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 49.6% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FSV opened at $183.91 on Thursday. FirstService has a twelve month low of $141.26 and a twelve month high of $192.71. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.63 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.04 and its 200-day moving average is $168.67.

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

FirstService Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. FirstService’s dividend 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.