FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Upgraded to "Buy" by StockNews.com

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities raised their price target 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.33.

FirstService Price Performance

FSV stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.69. 86,222 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,817. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.48. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.91 and a beta of 1.05. FirstService has a twelve month low of $134.77 and a twelve month high of $192.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in FirstService by 8,066.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in FirstService by 35.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in FirstService by 49.6% in the second 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 during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 40.6% during 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. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 100.0% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 300 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.

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