Stantec (NYSE:STN) Hits New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $95.53 and last traded at $94.73, with a volume of 165235 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.48.

The business services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1612 per share. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stantec’s payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on STN. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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 has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STN. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 73.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,493,000 after buying an additional 13,107 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 1.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 278,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,419,000 after buying an additional 5,150 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Stantec during the fourth quarter worth $531,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 1,011.1% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 83,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,567,000 after buying an additional 76,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stantec by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stantec Stock Up 5.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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.