FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings 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 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.33.

FSV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of FirstService from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSV traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,299. FirstService has a one year low of $141.26 and a one year high of $197.84. The company has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.67 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 2.19%. The firm's revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that FirstService will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. FirstService's payout ratio is presently 41.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in FirstService by 35.0% in 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in FirstService in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing 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 about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.35% of the company's stock.

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.