Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Takes Position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN - Free Report) TSE: STN in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,724 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Stantec by 14.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 215,049 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,968,000 after acquiring an additional 27,060 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Stantec during the 2nd quarter valued at about $609,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stantec during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,164,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Stantec in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company's stock.

Stantec Stock Down 0.4 %

STN stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.55. The stock had a trading volume of 110,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,964. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.08. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.98 and a 52-week high of $88.42.

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

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Stantec's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Stantec's payout ratio is presently 26.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stantec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Stantec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.