Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 261,705 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,008,962 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 261,705 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 2.64% of Stantec worth $236,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Stantec in the fourth quarter valued at $110,221,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in shares of Stantec in the fourth quarter valued at $56,191,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Stantec by 19.3% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 542,305 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Stantec by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $273,970,000 after purchasing an additional 302,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Stantec by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,983,637 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $155,433,000 after buying an additional 207,470 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STN. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE STN traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, reaching $101.76. 340,542 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,563. Stantec Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.18 and a 12 month high of $103.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $87.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.13. The company has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.25 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1612 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. 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.