10,500 Shares in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Purchased by Amiral Gestion

Amiral Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,500 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $823,000. Stantec comprises about 0.5% of Amiral Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Stantec by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $358,951,000 after buying an additional 74,976 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Stantec by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $273,970,000 after buying an additional 302,979 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Stantec by 19.3% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 542,305 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 261,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Stantec by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,983,637 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $155,433,000 after purchasing an additional 207,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STN has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Performance

NYSE STN traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $103.50. 69,592 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,831. The firm has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.09 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.92. Stantec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.18 and a fifty-two week high of $107.04. 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 - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. Equities research analysts predict that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.1612 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is 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.