Both spinoff and parent are holds

Article Excerpt

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $65.03 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) set up its commercial real estate business, Colliers International Group, as a separate company on June 1, 2015. Since the spinoff, FirstService has carried on with its residential property management and its commercial and residential property improvement services. In the third quarter, ended September 30, 2016, the company’s revenue rose 17.0%, to $409.1 million from $349.5 million a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share for the quarter jumped 24.0%, to $0.62 from $0.50 a year earlier. The results suggest FirstService likely met its earnings target of $1.56 U.S. a share for 2016—the second and third quarters are its busiest. The company’s outlook remains strong. The spinoff of Colliers International Group adds to the appeal. That’s because in most academic studies on the subject of spinoffs, both the parent and spinoff company…