FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Separately, Raymond James raised their price objective on FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstService currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.67.

FirstService Price Performance

Shares of FSV opened at $166.05 on Thursday. FirstService has a fifty-two week low of $141.26 and a fifty-two week high of $197.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 55.91 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.75.

FirstService Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. FirstService’s payout ratio is 37.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstService

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in FirstService by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of FirstService during the 3rd quarter valued at about $342,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of FirstService by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,992,000 after purchasing an additional 63,807 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of FirstService by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.35% of the company’s stock.

FirstService Company 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.