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

Shares of Stantec Inc. (TSE:STN - Get Free Report) NYSE: STN have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$148.42.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STN shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Stantec from C$144.00 to C$146.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Stantec from C$148.00 to C$153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Stantec from C$138.00 to C$150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. ATB Capital raised their price objective on shares of Stantec from C$140.00 to C$145.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Stantec from C$143.00 to C$156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Stantec Price Performance

STN traded up C$1.42 on Thursday, reaching C$142.88. The company had a trading volume of 327,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,559. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$124.84 and a 200-day moving average of C$118.67. The company has a market capitalization of C$16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.68, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 85.29. Stantec has a one year low of C$103.48 and a one year high of C$143.95.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is a boost from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Stantec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Clayton Bock purchased 1,250 shares of Stantec stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$139.51 per share, with a total value of C$174,392.88. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

About Stantec

Stantec Inc is a sustainable engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting company. The company is geographically diversified in three regional operating units namely Canada, the United States and Global, offering similar services across all regions. The company offers services in various sectors across the project life cycle through five business operating units infrastructure, water, buildings, environmental services, and energy and resources.