FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their target price on FirstService from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of FirstService in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of FirstService in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded FirstService from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, TD lifted their price objective on FirstService from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.82.

FirstService Stock Performance

FirstService stock opened at $153.12 on Friday. FirstService has a 12-month low of $119.41 and a 12-month high of $166.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.17.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that FirstService will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.3050 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of FirstService by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,587,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,560,000 after acquiring an additional 219,890 shares in the last quarter. BCV Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstService by 33.7% in the third quarter. BCV Asset Management Inc. now owns 677,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,268,000 after purchasing an additional 170,544 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of FirstService by 15.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 573,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,672,000 after purchasing an additional 77,758 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 368,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,206,000 after buying an additional 22,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of FirstService by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 277,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,513,000 after buying an additional 8,689 shares during the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About FirstService

FirstService Corporation is a Canadian provider of property management and property services serving customers primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two main businesses: FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands.

FirstService Residential provides property management services for condominium and homeowners’ associations, cooperatives, and other residential communities. Its services include community administration, financial management, maintenance coordination, customer support, and related operational services.

FirstService Brands operates and supports a network of property-service businesses, including companies involved in property restoration, painting, flooring, window treatments, and other residential and commercial services.