Louisbourg Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,546 shares during the quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. owned about 0.05% of Stantec worth $4,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STN. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Stantec by 166.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,342,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,751,093,000 after buying an additional 13,958,790 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Stantec during the fourth quarter worth about $110,221,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Stantec during the fourth quarter worth about $56,191,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Stantec by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,344,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,791,000 after buying an additional 542,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,496,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,970,000 after purchasing an additional 302,979 shares in the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stantec presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of STN stock opened at $107.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 49.09 and a beta of 1.03. Stantec Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.18 and a 1-year high of $108.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.71 and a 200 day moving average of $85.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors 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 a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.86%.

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.