Orbis Allan Gray Ltd Increases Position in FirstService Corporation $FSV

Key Points

• Orbis Allan Gray Ltd has increased its holdings in FirstService Corporation by 18.8%, now owning approximately 3.12% of the company, valued at $235.18 million.
• Analyst ratings for FirstService reflect a mix of opinions, with two analysts rating it "Buy" and two issuing a "Hold" rating, resulting in a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $217.75.
• FirstService reported earnings of $1.71 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 9.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its stake in shares of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV - Free Report) TSE: FSV by 18.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,417,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 224,125 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd owned about 3.12% of FirstService worth $235,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in FirstService during the 1st quarter valued at $531,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in FirstService by 82.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 157,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,083,000 after buying an additional 70,971 shares during the last quarter. Pembroke Management LTD raised its stake in FirstService by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Pembroke Management LTD now owns 6,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in FirstService by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in FirstService by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. 69.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FSV. TD Securities increased their price target on FirstService from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstService from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of FirstService from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstService presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.75.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of FSV traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $198.57. 55,869 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,568. FirstService Corporation has a 1-year low of $153.13 and a 1-year high of $202.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.26 and a 200-day moving average of $178.26. The stock has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.64 and a beta of 0.96.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.26. FirstService had a net margin of 2.61% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that FirstService Corporation will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstService Profile

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.