First Affirmative Financial Network Decreases Holdings in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

First Affirmative Financial Network reduced its position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 481 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Stantec were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of STN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Stantec by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 215,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,968,000 after buying an additional 27,060 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Stantec by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Stantec during the second quarter worth about $71,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 177.6% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA grew its position in shares of Stantec by 81.8% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 14,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 6,354 shares during the last quarter. 63.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stantec Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Stantec stock opened at $79.05 on Friday. Stantec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.98 and a fifty-two week high of $88.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.99. 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 $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.93 and a beta of 1.01.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The business services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Stantec had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 4.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Stantec’s payout ratio is presently 26.36%.

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.