Topic: Growth Stocks

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $63.43 – Toronto symbol FSV

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $63.43 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.5 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.7%) serves the following areas of the real estate market: commercial real estate, residential property management and property improvement. The company has more than 24,000 employees worldwide.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2014, FirstService’s revenue rose 13.5%, to $684.6 million from $603.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share were $0.75, up 8.7% from $0.69.

Revenue rose at all three of FirstService’s divisions: Colliers International (commercial real estate), up 16%; FirstService Residential (residential property management), up 10%; and FirstService Brands (property services), up 12%. (FirstService Brands operates Paul Davis Restoration, California Closets and CertaPro Painters.)

FirstService continues to grow by acquisition. Its latest is Paris-based AOS Group, one of Europe’s leading real estate and workplace consulting firms. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The stock needs a continued recovery in global real estate markets to keep rising. Meanwhile, it trades at 22.3 times the $2.85 a share the company will likely earn in this year.

FirstService is a hold.

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