Stantec (NYSE:STN) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Get Free Report) TSE: STN's stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $95.53 and last traded at $94.73, with a volume of 165235 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $93.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STN. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stantec currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Stantec Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.06 and a beta of 0.98.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.1574 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Stantec's payout ratio is 26.61%.

Institutional Trading of Stantec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STN. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter worth $85,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter worth $99,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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