Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation.

Several research analysts have commented on STN shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Stantec Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:STN opened at $106.64 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.12 and a 200 day moving average of $85.70. Stantec has a 52 week low of $73.18 and a 52 week high of $108.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.47 and a beta of 1.03.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Stantec will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1612 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio is 26.86%.

Institutional Trading of Stantec

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STN. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stantec

Stantec Inc provides professional services in the areas of infrastructure and facilities to the public and private sectors in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It offers evaluation, planning, and designing infrastructure solutions; solutions for sustainable water resources, planning, management, and infrastructure; environmental services; integrated architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning solutions for buildings; and energy and resources solutions.