National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 883,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 54,001 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.77% of Stantec worth $69,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STN. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Stantec in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Stantec during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Stantec by 456.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stantec during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. 63.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stantec Stock Performance

NYSE:STN traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.73. 94,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,578. Stantec Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.49 and a 52 week high of $87.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.60.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $912.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $891.12 million. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 5.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.1548 per share. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio is 26.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Stantec from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.00.

Stantec 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.