National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 59,812 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Stantec Inc. by 4.0%, owning approximately 1.35% of the company, valued at $127.54 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Franklin Resources and Geode Capital Management, have recently increased their holdings in Stantec, contributing to a 63.86% institutional ownership of the stock.
• Stantec declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1612 per share, slightly up from its previous dividend, with an annualized yield of 0.6%.

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,539,541 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 59,812 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 1.35% of Stantec worth $127,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Stantec by 166.5% during 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 during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in Stantec in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,191,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 542,305 shares during the period. 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Stantec by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 689,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,465,000 after buying an additional 166,063 shares during the period. 63.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stantec Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:STN traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.10. 112,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 169,699. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.07. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.18 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.1612 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is 27.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. CIBC restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

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.