Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys New Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 20,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Stantec in the second quarter valued at about $71,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Stantec by 802.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Stantec by 30.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in shares of Stantec during the third quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stantec in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:STN opened at $78.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82 and a beta of 1.01. Stantec Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.98 and a 12 month high of $88.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.08.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The business services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.155 dividend. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on STN shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “sector outperform” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.