Avanza Fonder AB Invests $670,000 in FirstService Corporation $FSV

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of FirstService by 79.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 318,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after purchasing an additional 141,152 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of FirstService by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,856,000 after purchasing an additional 17,072 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of FirstService during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in FirstService by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in FirstService by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstService Stock Performance

NASDAQ FSV opened at $137.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. FirstService Corporation has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $209.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.11.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts predict that FirstService Corporation will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FSV. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of FirstService in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of FirstService in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $202.00 target price on shares of FirstService in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.67.

About FirstService

FirstService Corporation, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, is a leading provider of property services in North America. The company operates through two principal segments—FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands—offering a broad range of services to residential, commercial and homeowner association clients.

FirstService Residential delivers community management, financial oversight and consulting services to thousands of residential communities across the United States and Canada.