Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases New Position in Stantec Inc. $STN

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired 6,781 shares of Stantec Inc. in the first quarter, valued at approximately $568,000, indicating increasing institutional interest in the company.
• Stantec has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1635, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with an annualized yield of 0.6%.
• The stock currently holds an average rating of "Buy" from seven analysts, with recent reports suggesting strong performance expectations for Stantec in the near future.

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,781 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STN. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 166.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,342,818 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,751,093,000 after acquiring an additional 13,958,790 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 28.8% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,309,182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $359,131,000 after acquiring an additional 964,188 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,008,962 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $236,055,000 after acquiring an additional 261,705 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 781.2% in the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 186,118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,429,000 after acquiring an additional 164,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 301,833 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,672,000 after acquiring an additional 122,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stantec from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Stantec has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Performance

STN traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $110.17. The company had a trading volume of 15,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,618. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $113.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 40.21 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.28.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The business services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98. Stantec had a net margin of 5.62% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Stantec has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.784-3.880 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a $0.1635 dividend. This represents a $0.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.09%.

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.