Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation.

Several research firms have issued reports on STN. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stantec in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stantec in the first quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Stantec in the first quarter valued at $97,000. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stantec Stock Up 1.2%

STN stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.94. 167,273 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,681. Stantec has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $88.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.50. The stock has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.34 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Stantec (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN last posted its 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stantec will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.1612 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is a positive change 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%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.