Ritholtz Wealth Management Trims Stock Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,958 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,271 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Stantec were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Stantec by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stantec by 37.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Stantec in the first quarter worth approximately $97,000. Natixis grew its position in Stantec by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Stantec by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE STN traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.17. The stock had a trading volume of 98,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,141. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.26. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $108.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.46 and a beta of 1.03.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1612 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

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.