Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Shares Sold by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 622 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Stantec were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STN. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Stantec by 166.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,342,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,751,093,000 after acquiring an additional 13,958,790 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Stantec in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,221,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in Stantec in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,191,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Stantec by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,344,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,791,000 after acquiring an additional 542,305 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Stantec by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $273,970,000 after acquiring an additional 302,979 shares during the period. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on STN shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STN opened at $110.31 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.58 and a beta of 1.03. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $113.50.

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 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 analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 5.01%. Research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

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

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.