FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 487,570 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 152% from the previous session’s volume of 193,701 shares.The stock last traded at $158.7550 and had previously closed at $156.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of FirstService in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of FirstService from $213.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. CIBC cut their price objective on FirstService from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on FirstService from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstService currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.83.

FirstService Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $154.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.06.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.76. FirstService had a return on equity of 17.98% and a net margin of 2.53%.The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that FirstService Corporation will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is 36.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FSV. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in FirstService by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstService by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in FirstService by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in FirstService by 63.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC grew its stake in FirstService by 4.1% during the second quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstService Company Profile

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.