Ritholtz Wealth Management Takes Position in FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV)

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis increased its holdings in shares of FirstService by 5,511.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in FirstService by 23.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in FirstService during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstService Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:FSV opened at $177.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. FirstService Corporation has a 1-year low of $148.43 and a 1-year high of $197.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.45 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.05.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.08. FirstService had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 2.46%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. FirstService’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that FirstService Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstService Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on FirstService from $217.50 to $210.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on FirstService from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.40.

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.