Stantec (NYSE:STN) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

STN has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Stantec from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Stantec from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $175.00.

Stantec Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of STN opened at $92.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. Stantec has a one year low of $84.08 and a one year high of $114.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.36.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Stantec had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 5.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Stantec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.370-4.490 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Stantec will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stantec

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stantec by 159.0% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,109,000 after purchasing an additional 100,512 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stantec during the 1st quarter worth $144,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stantec during the 4th quarter worth $1,673,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Stantec by 1,148.9% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stantec during the 4th quarter worth $587,000. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stantec

Stantec is a global design and consulting firm offering professional services in engineering, architecture, and environmental sciences. The company partners with public and private clients to deliver solutions spanning infrastructure, water, energy and resources, and community development. Through an integrated approach, Stantec manages projects from initial planning and conceptual design through construction and commissioning, focusing on sustainability and innovation.

The firm’s service portfolio includes civil infrastructure design, building systems engineering, environmental assessments, and project management.