FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. FirstService had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 17.98%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis.

FirstService Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FSV opened at $157.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.58. FirstService has a 1 year low of $147.23 and a 1 year high of $209.66. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.01, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.305 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. FirstService’s payout ratio is currently 36.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in FirstService in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstService by 63.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in FirstService during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of FirstService by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new stake in shares of FirstService during the 2nd quarter worth $105,000. 69.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FSV shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on FirstService from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of FirstService from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets set a $209.00 price target on shares of FirstService and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. CIBC cut their target price 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, TD Securities reduced their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.83.

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.