Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Stantec were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Natixis lifted its position in Stantec by 17.7% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 1,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd boosted its stake in Stantec by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 6,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Stantec by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Stantec during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STN. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Stantec from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stantec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.00.

Stantec Trading Down 1.0 %

STN traded down $0.81 on Thursday, reaching $83.01. 145,988 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,221. Stantec Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.37 and a twelve month high of $87.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $82.86 and its 200-day moving average is $74.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10 and a beta of 1.05.

Stantec (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The business services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $912.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $891.12 million. Stantec had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 16.50%. Equities analysts predict that Stantec Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.1548 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Stantec’s payout ratio is 26.36%.

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.