Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STN. Raymond James downgraded Stantec from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “sector outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stantec

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Stantec in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,117,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Stantec by 198.4% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 378,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,405,000 after purchasing an additional 251,407 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stantec by 9.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 523,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,781,000 after purchasing an additional 46,267 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Stantec by 73.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 13,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Stantec during the 3rd quarter worth about $877,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stantec Price Performance

Stantec stock opened at $86.98 on Friday. Stantec has a 12-month low of $74.62 and a 12-month high of $88.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a PE ratio of 39.54 and a beta of 0.99.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Stantec’s payout ratio is presently 28.18%.

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.