FirstService (FSV) versus Its Competitors Critical Contrast

FirstService (NASDAQ:FSV) is one of 329 public companies in the “Real Estate Management & Development” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare FirstService to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

FirstService has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstService’s peers have a beta of -0.20, indicating that their average stock price is 120% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares FirstService and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstService	2.59%	19.66%	5.61%
FirstService Competitors	-264.49%	-683.07%	-1.20%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FirstService and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstService	$5.68 billion	$145.05 million	46.68
FirstService Competitors	$2.69 billion	-$400.38 million	27.49

FirstService has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. FirstService is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.3% of FirstService shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.4% of shares of all “Real Estate Management & Development” companies are held by institutional investors. 27.1% of shares of all “Real Estate Management & Development” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

FirstService pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. FirstService pays out 37.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Real Estate Management & Development” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.8% and pay out 49.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. FirstService has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for FirstService and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstService	0	4	8	0	2.67
FirstService Competitors	1583	4692	7449	209	2.45

FirstService currently has a consensus price target of $179.82, indicating a potential upside of 17.44%. As a group, “Real Estate Management & Development” companies have a potential upside of 22.42%. Given FirstService’s peers higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FirstService has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

FirstService beats its peers on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

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. This segment provides a range of ancillary services, including on-site staffing for building engineering and maintenance, full-service amenity management, and security and concierge/front desk; and financial services comprising cash management, other banking transaction-related, and specialized property insurance brokerage. In addition, this segment offers energy management solutions and advisory services, and resale processing services. Its FirstService Brands segment operates and provides essential property services to residential and commercial customers through franchise networks; and company-owned operations, including California Closets, Paul Davis Restoration, and CertaPro Painters operations. It provides residential and commercial restoration, painting, and floor coverings design and installation services; custom-designed and installed closet, and home storage solutions; home inspection services; and fire protection and related services. This segment offers its services primarily under the Paul Davis Restoration, Roofing Corp of America, First Onsite property Restoration, Century Fire Protection, CertaPro Painters, California Closets, Pillar to Post Home Inspectors, and Floor Coverings International brand names. FirstService Corporation was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.