Brokerages Set FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Price Target at $198.33

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.33.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FSV shares. TD Securities boosted their target price 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 boosted their target price on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in FirstService by 486.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,308,000 after purchasing an additional 389,129 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of FirstService in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 70,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,810,000 after purchasing an additional 15,165 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 240,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,144,000 after purchasing an additional 10,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of FirstService in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,238,000. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Stock Performance

FirstService stock opened at $191.13 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.74. The company has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.64 and a beta of 1.04. FirstService has a 12-month low of $141.26 and a 12-month high of $197.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released 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. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that FirstService will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. FirstService’s payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

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.