Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating.

STN has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Stantec Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:STN opened at $101.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 46.00 and a beta of 0.98. Stantec has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $101.81.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stantec will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1612 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stantec

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Stantec in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Stantec by 632.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stantec by 37.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Stantec in the first quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Stantec in the first quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Company Profile

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.