FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $201.67.

FSV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

FirstService Price Performance

FSV opened at $166.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.09. FirstService has a twelve month low of $141.26 and a twelve month high of $197.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.07 and a beta of 1.04.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berry Wealth Group LP lifted its stake in FirstService by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 1,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in FirstService by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FirstService by 3.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in FirstService by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,838,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.