QV Investors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

QV Investors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,035 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 18,690 shares during the period. Stantec accounts for about 1.6% of QV Investors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. QV Investors Inc. owned 0.16% of Stantec worth $15,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 632.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis raised its position in shares of Stantec by 114.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:STN traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $105.65. The company had a trading volume of 127,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,242. Stantec Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.18 and a twelve month high of $106.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $91.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.52.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last issued its 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 return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.1612 dividend. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

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.