Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Acquires New Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the second quarter worth $71,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 802.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Stantec by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in Stantec in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Stantec in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on STN. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Stantec Stock Performance

STN opened at $78.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Stantec Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.98 and a 12-month high of $88.42.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The business services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Stantec’s payout ratio is presently 26.36%.

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.