Cumberland Partners Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd has increased its ownership in Stantec Inc. by 38.4%, acquiring an additional 48,065 shares, bringing its total stake to 173,355 shares.
• Stantec recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1612 per share, which represents a slight increase from its previous dividend of $0.16.
• The stock of Stantec currently has an average rating of "Buy" from analysts, with several firms reiterating their "outperform" and "buy" ratings recently.

Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 38.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,355 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,065 shares during the period. Stantec makes up approximately 1.1% of Cumberland Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd owned about 0.15% of Stantec worth $14,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STN. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Stantec by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 74,976 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position 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 worth $273,970,000 after purchasing an additional 302,979 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position 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 worth $262,791,000 after purchasing an additional 542,305 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Stantec by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,008,962 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $236,055,000 after buying an additional 261,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of STN traded up $1.18 on Monday, reaching $109.84. 55,893 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 161,997. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $108.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.90. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.03. Stantec Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.18 and a 52-week high of $113.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.1612 dividend. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.27%.

Stantec 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.