USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases 3,827 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

USS Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Stantec were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stantec by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,575,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $358,951,000 after buying an additional 74,976 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $273,970,000 after buying an additional 302,979 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $262,791,000 after buying an additional 542,305 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $236,055,000 after buying an additional 261,705 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $155,433,000 after buying an additional 207,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of STN opened at $101.94 on Friday. Stantec Inc. has a one year low of $73.18 and a one year high of $103.32. The company has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.51.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.1612 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio is 25.62%.

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.