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

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $198.33.

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

FirstService Stock Performance

FSV stock opened at $187.09 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.95 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. FirstService has a 12 month low of $141.26 and a 12 month high of $192.71.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. FirstService’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstService will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. FirstService’s payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in FirstService by 8,066.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstService by 35.0% during the second 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. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstService by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstService by 40.6% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Company Profile

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.