FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $191.30 and last traded at $191.30, with a volume of 201 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $186.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FSV. Scotiabank increased their target price on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Securities lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstService has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.33.

FirstService Stock Down 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.87 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm's fifty day moving average is $179.31 and its 200-day moving average is $163.56.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.10. FirstService had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 1.73%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstService Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. FirstService's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

Institutional Trading of FirstService

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its stake in FirstService by 25.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in FirstService by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 81,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,528,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in FirstService in the first quarter valued at $862,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService during the first quarter valued at $429,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of FirstService by 103.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 8,017 shares during the last quarter. 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.