Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN – Get Free Report) (TSE:STN) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 652,100 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the November 30th total of 825,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 130,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stantec

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Stantec by 3.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Stantec by 12.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Stantec by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Stantec by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.86% of the company’s stock.

Stantec Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE STN traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $78.55. 41,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,290. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 0.99. 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 has a one year low of $76.03 and a one year high of $88.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.87.

Stantec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Stantec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Stantec

Stantec Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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