FirstService (TSE:FSV) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as C$181.49 (last C$181.60) on volume of 48,615 shares and were down about 0.8% intraday.
• Analysts retain a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target of C$209.00 despite mixed target revisions from TD (recently cut to C$201.00 from C$217.00).
• The stock trades at a high valuation (P/E 51.27) with modest profitability (net margin 2.93%, ROE 12.11%), and insiders have been net sellers recently—including a director sale of 10,000 shares—while insiders still own 10.26%.

Shares of FirstService Co. (TSE:FSV - Get Free Report) NASDAQ: FSV reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$181.49 and last traded at C$181.60, with a volume of 48615 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$183.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FSV shares. TD dropped their price target on FirstService from C$217.00 to C$201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Securities raised their price target on FirstService from C$211.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$209.00.

FirstService Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 95.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$200.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$212.98. The firm has a market capitalization of C$8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.27, a PEG ratio of 107.75 and a beta of 0.85.

FirstService (TSE:FSV - Get Free Report) NASDAQ: FSV last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported C$1.88 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$1.82 billion for the quarter. FirstService had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that FirstService Co. will post 7.5161189 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstService news, Director D. Scott Patterson sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$214.00, for a total transaction of C$2,140,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 135,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$28,890,000. This trade represents a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 24,700 shares of company stock worth $5,296,022 over the last quarter. 10.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

FirstService Company Profile

FirstService Corp operates in two business divisions: FirstService Residential and FirstService Brands. FirstService Residential has service contracts to manage thousands of residential communities, including high-, medium-, and low-rise condominiums and co-operatives, and generates most of the company's revenue. FirstService Brands provides property services to residential and commercial customers through the following brands: California Closets; Paul Davis Restoration; CertPro Painters; Pillar to Post; Floor Coverings International; College Pro Painters; and Service America.

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