FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) Increases Dividend to $0.28 Per Share

FirstService Co. (NASDAQ:FSV) (TSE:FSV) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.275 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from FirstService’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

FirstService has raised its dividend by an average of 11.1% per year over the last three years. FirstService has a payout ratio of 16.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect FirstService to earn $5.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.9%.

FirstService Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:FSV traded up $2.29 on Tuesday, reaching $182.69. 47,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 116,697. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.79. FirstService has a 12 month low of $141.26 and a 12 month high of $197.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.09 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FSV. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of FirstService from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of FirstService from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of FirstService from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of FirstService from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.67.

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.