Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 328,180 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,400 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of Stantec worth $27,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STN. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Stantec by 37.6% in the first 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. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Stantec in the first quarter valued at $85,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Stantec in the first quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Natixis raised its stake in 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. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on STN. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Down 0.5%

STN opened at $109.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.08 and a beta of 1.03. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $110.39. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $102.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 5.01%. Analysts anticipate that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.1612 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec's payout ratio 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.

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