Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,769 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Stantec by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 215,049 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,968,000 after purchasing an additional 27,060 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Stantec by 301.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,255 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 8,454 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Stantec by 12.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Stantec during the second quarter valued at about $276,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Stantec by 15.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,176,820 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $265,177,000 after purchasing an additional 415,993 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Stantec Price Performance

Shares of STN stock traded up $0.89 on Monday, reaching $77.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 83,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 96,277. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $81.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.31. Stantec Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.98 and a 1 year high of $88.42. The company has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Stantec's dividend payout ratio is 26.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stantec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stantec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. 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 initiated 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.