Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Stantec Inc. by 4.9%, acquiring 97,496 shares, bringing its total shares held to over 2 million, which represents about 0.8% of their investment portfolio.
• Stantec recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.81 EPS, exceeding the consensus expectation of $0.79, with a revenue of $1.08 billion.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1612 per share, up from $0.16, which reflects an annual yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 27.27%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,081,133 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 97,496 shares during the quarter. Stantec comprises about 0.8% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 1.82% of Stantec worth $172,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted 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. ELCO Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 7,337 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on STN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Price Performance

Shares of STN stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $108.20. The company had a trading volume of 126,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,818. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.83 and a 200-day moving average of $94.07. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.68 and a beta of 1.03. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $113.50.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last posted its quarterly 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 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.1612 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 0.6%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.27%.

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.