Stantec (TSE:STN) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Stantec Inc. (TSE:STN) (NYSE:STN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$144.38 and last traded at C$144.26, with a volume of 88289 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$142.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STN has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Stantec from C$143.00 to C$156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James raised Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$130.00 to C$140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Securities raised their target price on Stantec from C$145.00 to C$165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Stantec from C$138.00 to C$150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Stantec from C$144.00 to C$146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stantec currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$148.42.

Stantec Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 85.29, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$124.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$118.67.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Clayton Bock bought 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$139.51 per share, for a total transaction of C$174,392.88. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Company Profile

Stantec Inc is a sustainable engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting company. The company is geographically diversified in three regional operating units namely Canada, the United States and Global, offering similar services across all regions. The company offers services in various sectors across the project life cycle through five business operating units infrastructure, water, buildings, environmental services, and energy and resources.