Two Sigma Advisers LP Grows Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 130,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,200 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Stantec were worth $10,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Stantec by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,951,000 after acquiring an additional 74,976 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Stantec by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,970,000 after acquiring an additional 302,979 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Stantec by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,344,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,791,000 after acquiring an additional 542,305 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Stantec by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,008,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,055,000 after acquiring an additional 261,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Stantec by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,983,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $155,433,000 after acquiring an additional 207,470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:STN opened at $100.78 on Friday. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.18 and a 1 year high of $103.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 45.81 and a beta of 0.98. 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 (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1612 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec’s payout ratio is currently 25.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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