Louisbourg Investments Inc. Grows Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Louisbourg Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,546 shares during the quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s holdings in Stantec were worth $4,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STN. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Stantec by 166.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,342,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,751,093,000 after buying an additional 13,958,790 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Stantec in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,221,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Stantec in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,191,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Stantec by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,344,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,791,000 after buying an additional 542,305 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Stantec by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,970,000 after buying an additional 302,979 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of Stantec stock opened at $107.99 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.09 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.84. Stantec Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.18 and a 12 month high of $108.34.

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

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stantec presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.