Stantec (NYSE:STN) Trading 3.9% Higher Following Earnings Beat

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN)’s stock price rose 3.9% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $99.78 and last traded at $98.37. Approximately 63,009 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 139,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.72.

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 return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.1612 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Stantec’s payout ratio is currently 26.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Stantec

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Stantec by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Stantec by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Stantec during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $86.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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.