Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 4,324 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 169,048 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,324 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.15% of Stantec worth $13,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stantec by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Stantec by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Stantec during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Stantec in the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. bought a new position in Stantec during the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James raised Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Stantec Price Performance

STN traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.80. 34,818 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,661. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45 and a beta of 1.00. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $90.24.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.1574 dividend. This is a positive change from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Stantec's payout ratio is 26.61%.

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.