Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 330,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,297 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.29% of Stantec worth $26,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Stantec by 456.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stantec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $291,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Stock Up 1.0 %

STN opened at $80.42 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.60 and a 200 day moving average of $77.35. The company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55 and a beta of 1.04. Stantec Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.49 and a 12 month high of $87.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $912.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $891.12 million. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 5.11%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stantec Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.1548 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Stantec from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

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.