FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 163,875 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 150,898 shares.The stock last traded at $155.4950 and had previously closed at $153.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FSV shares. CIBC cut their price target on FirstService from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of FirstService in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on FirstService from $213.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut FirstService from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.83.

FirstService Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $171.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.20. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.93 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

FirstService Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstService

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FSV. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstService by 63.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in FirstService in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of FirstService by 400.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in FirstService by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.