Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Shares Purchased by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,969 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Stantec were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Stantec by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 580,736 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,559,000 after purchasing an additional 39,671 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 407,626 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,965,000 after buying an additional 45,900 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Stantec by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Stantec by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 263,845 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,699,000 after acquiring an additional 30,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Stantec by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 13,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James raised Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of STN traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.32. 222,635 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,993. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $110.12. The firm's fifty day moving average is $88.82 and its 200-day moving average is $83.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.96 and a beta of 0.98.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.62%. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.62%.

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.