Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 50,348 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,467 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 50,348 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.24% of Stantec worth $21,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Stantec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Stantec in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Stantec by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,726 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Stantec during the 3rd quarter worth $291,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Stantec from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stantec presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Stantec Trading Down 2.1 %

Stantec stock traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.60. 110,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 111,176. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $82.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Stantec Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.49 and a 12 month high of $87.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 1.04.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.03). Stantec had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The firm had revenue of $912.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $891.12 million. Analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.1548 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Stantec's payout ratio is 26.36%.

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.