FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $183.93 and last traded at $183.88, with a volume of 29007 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $180.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FSV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on FirstService from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on FirstService from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on FirstService from $178.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.50.

FirstService Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 1.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstService Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 68.0% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 68,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,416,000 after purchasing an additional 27,871 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstService in the first quarter worth about $862,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 245.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 338,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,803,000 after purchasing an additional 240,303 shares during the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 99.9% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 9,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of FirstService by 103.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 8,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

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.