Critical Survey: Purplebricks Gp (OTCMKTS:PRPPF) and FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV)

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) and Purplebricks Gp (OTCMKTS:PRPPF) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.4% of FirstService shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares FirstService and Purplebricks Gp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstService	2.64%	18.69%	5.60%
Purplebricks Gp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares FirstService and Purplebricks Gp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstService	$5.50 billion	1.37	$145.05 million	$3.16	51.99
Purplebricks Gp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

FirstService has higher revenue and earnings than Purplebricks Gp.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for FirstService and Purplebricks Gp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstService	0	2	6	0	2.75
Purplebricks Gp	0	0	0	0	0.00

FirstService presently has a consensus target price of $211.67, indicating a potential upside of 28.84%. Given FirstService’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe FirstService is more favorable than Purplebricks Gp.

Summary

FirstService beats Purplebricks Gp on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FirstService

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. This segment provides a range of ancillary services, including on-site staffing for building engineering and maintenance, full-service amenity management, and security and concierge/front desk; and financial services comprising cash management, other banking transaction-related, and specialized property insurance brokerage. In addition, this segment offers energy management solutions and advisory services, and resale processing services. Its FirstService Brands segment operates and provides essential property services to residential and commercial customers through franchise networks; and company-owned operations, including California Closets, Paul Davis Restoration, and CertaPro Painters operations. It provides residential and commercial restoration, painting, and floor coverings design and installation services; custom-designed and installed closet, and home storage solutions; home inspection services; and fire protection and related services. This segment offers its services primarily under the Paul Davis Restoration, Roofing Corp of America, First Onsite property Restoration, Century Fire Protection, CertaPro Painters, California Closets, Pillar to Post Home Inspectors, and Floor Coverings International brand names. FirstService Corporation was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Purplebricks Gp

Bricks Newco Limited engages in the real estate agency business in the United Kingdom. The company provides services and technology to sell or let residential properties in the United Kingdom on behalf of the owner or landlord. It also engages in the letting of residential properties; and the provision of mortgage advisory services. The company offers its services under the Purplebricks brand name. Bricks Newco Limited was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Solihull, the United Kingdom.