Stantec (NYSE:STN) Now Covered by Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a sector outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, Raymond James lowered Stantec from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STN traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.78. 60,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 119,730. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Stantec has a 52 week low of $59.55 and a 52 week high of $88.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.20.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 4.96%. Sell-side analysts predict that Stantec will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.152 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stantec

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,210,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,671,000 after purchasing an additional 59,821 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec in the 1st quarter valued at $810,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec in the 1st quarter valued at $153,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 92,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 41,724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

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.