JCIC Asset Management Inc. Buys New Shares in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV)

JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,999,000. FirstService accounts for approximately 1.6% of JCIC Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSV. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstService by 486.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,308,000 after purchasing an additional 389,129 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstService by 2,136.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,853,000 after buying an additional 199,937 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of FirstService by 6.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,733,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,427,000 after acquiring an additional 174,970 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of FirstService by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 388,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,992,000 after acquiring an additional 63,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in FirstService by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 246,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,008,000 after acquiring an additional 49,790 shares in the last quarter. 69.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on FSV shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Securities increased their price target on FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.33.

FirstService Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FSV traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $174.10. 59,141 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 87,707. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.54 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. FirstService Co. has a 52 week low of $141.26 and a 52 week high of $197.84.

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. FirstService had a net margin of 2.19% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that FirstService Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

FirstService Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. FirstService’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.67%.

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.