Head to Head Comparison: FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) & Exp World (NASDAQ:EXPI)

Exp World (NASDAQ:EXPI) and FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Exp World and FirstService’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exp World	-0.48%	-10.00%	-5.00%
FirstService	2.64%	18.69%	5.60%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Exp World and FirstService”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exp World	$4.77 billion	0.21	-$22.71 million	($0.14)	-44.21
FirstService	$5.50 billion	1.19	$145.05 million	$3.16	45.19

FirstService has higher revenue and earnings than Exp World. Exp World is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FirstService, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Exp World has a beta of 2.13, meaning that its stock price is 113% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstService has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Exp World and FirstService, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exp World	1	1	1	0	2.00
FirstService	0	2	6	0	2.75

Exp World currently has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 77.71%. FirstService has a consensus price target of $211.67, indicating a potential upside of 48.24%. Given Exp World’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Exp World is more favorable than FirstService.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

27.2% of Exp World shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.4% of FirstService shares are held by institutional investors. 26.6% of Exp World shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Exp World pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. FirstService pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Exp World pays out -142.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FirstService pays out 34.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Exp World has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and FirstService has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Exp World is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

FirstService beats Exp World on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exp World

eXp World Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based real estate brokerage services for residential homeowners and homebuyers. The company operates through North American Realty, International Realty, Virbela, and Other Affiliated Services segments. It provides Virbela, a cloud-based technologies that provides data, lead generation, and marketing tools for real estate agents and employees. In addition, the company offers SUCCESS print magazine, SUCCESS.com portal, SUCCESS newsletters, SUCCESS podcasts, SUCCESS plus, SUCCESS speakers bureau, and SUCCESS coaching, podcasts, and digital training courses. It operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India, Mexico, Portugal, France, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Italy, Hong Kong, Colombia, Spain, Israel, Panama, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Greece, New Zealand, Chile, and Poland. The company was formerly known as eXp Realty International Corporation and changed its name to eXp World Holdings, Inc. in May 2016. eXp World Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Bellingham, Washington.

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.