Two Sigma Investments LP Buys 49,200 Shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN)

Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 167,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 49,200 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Stantec were worth $13,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Stantec by 632.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Stantec by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. Natixis raised its stake in shares of Stantec by 114.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 1,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Stantec by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Stantec in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. 63.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stantec in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stantec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Stantec in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Stantec Stock Performance

Stantec stock opened at $101.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.51. Stantec Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.18 and a 52-week high of $103.32. 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 (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The business services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.02. Stantec had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stantec Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1612 per share. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.62%.

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.