FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Coverage Initiated at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.26% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FSV. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of FirstService from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $187.00 target price on shares of FirstService in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FirstService from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of FirstService from $196.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of FirstService from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.86.

FirstService Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FSV opened at $154.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.83 and a beta of 0.97. FirstService has a twelve month low of $134.77 and a twelve month high of $171.94.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. FirstService had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 2.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstService will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FSV. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 25.9% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $54,803,000 after purchasing an additional 240,303 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstService in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.