Stantec (NYSE:STN) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $103.32 and last traded at $101.76, with a volume of 340542 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $101.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stantec has an average rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.13. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 46.25 and a beta of 0.98.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.1612 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stantec in the first quarter worth $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Stantec by 632.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Stantec by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Stantec during the 1st quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

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.