Stantec (NYSE:STN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on STN. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stantec has an average rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of Stantec stock opened at $112.05 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.75 and a 200-day moving average of $90.37. Stantec has a 1-year low of $73.18 and a 1-year high of $112.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stantec will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.1612 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stantec

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EWA LLC acquired a new stake in Stantec during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its position in Stantec by 71.6% during the 2nd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 37,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,045,000 after buying an additional 15,526 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Stantec by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Stantec by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Stantec during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.