Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Stantec were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Stantec by 121.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,802,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,475 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Stantec by 54.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,453,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $116,897,000 after purchasing an additional 513,269 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Stantec by 198.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its stake in Stantec by 79.1% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 198,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,966,000 after purchasing an additional 87,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in Stantec by 1,011.1% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 83,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 76,217 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stantec Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE STN opened at $82.41 on Friday. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $90.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46 and a beta of 1.04.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.1574 per share. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on STN. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

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.