FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $225.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Approximately 186,926 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 59% from the previous session’s volume of 117,671 shares.The stock last traded at $185.08 and had previously closed at $185.64.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FSV. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSV. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in FirstService in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in FirstService in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in FirstService by 49.6% in the 2nd 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, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstService during the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $185.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 77.27 and a beta of 1.06.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 2.19%. The business’s revenue was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that FirstService Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio 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.