Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires New Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,153,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Stantec by 632.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Stantec by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. Natixis increased its holdings in Stantec by 114.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Stantec by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Stantec during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on STN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stantec presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:STN opened at $103.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.06. The stock has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.11 and a beta of 0.98. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $104.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

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.