FirstService (FSV) versus Its Peers Head to Head Review

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) is one of 330 public companies in the “Real Estate Management & Development” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare FirstService to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

FirstService pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstService pays out 37.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Real Estate Management & Development” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.6% and pay out 49.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. FirstService has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares FirstService and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstService	2.59%	19.66%	5.61%
FirstService Competitors	-300.14%	-678.80%	-1.90%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for FirstService and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstService	0	4	8	0	2.67
FirstService Competitors	1609	4702	7462	209	2.45

FirstService presently has a consensus target price of $179.82, suggesting a potential upside of 16.64%. As a group, “Real Estate Management & Development” companies have a potential upside of 22.24%. Given FirstService’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FirstService has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.3% of FirstService shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.2% of shares of all “Real Estate Management & Development” companies are owned by institutional investors. 26.8% of shares of all “Real Estate Management & Development” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

FirstService has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstService’s rivals have a beta of -0.21, suggesting that their average stock price is 121% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares FirstService and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstService	$5.50 billion	$145.05 million	47.00
FirstService Competitors	$2.66 billion	-$398.43 million	28.60

FirstService has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. FirstService is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

FirstService beats its rivals on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

FirstService Company Profile

FirstService Corporation is a North American property services company operating through two primary businesses: FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands. The company serves residential communities and property owners in the United States and Canada. FirstService Residential provides property management services to condominium and homeowner associations, as well as other residential communities. Its services include day-to-day community operations, maintenance coordination, financial administration and support for boards and residents.