Wall Street Zen Upgrades FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) to Buy

Key Points

• FirstService has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, reflecting increased confidence in the stock's potential.
• Scotiabank raised its price target for FirstService from $210.00 to $220.00, while TD Securities increased their target from $200.00 to $211.00, indicating positive sentiment among analysts.
• In its latest earnings report, FirstService reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.71, exceeding analysts' estimates and showing a 9.1% revenue growth year-over-year.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of FirstService from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.75.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of FirstService stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $204.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,666. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $192.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.24. FirstService has a one year low of $153.13 and a one year high of $206.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.58 and a beta of 0.96.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV - Get Free Report) TSE: FSV last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that FirstService will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in FirstService by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in FirstService by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in FirstService by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in FirstService by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 7,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of FirstService by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 100 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.