Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.1574 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

Stantec has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.4% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Stantec has a payout ratio of 15.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Stantec to earn $3.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.59 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.1%.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of STN opened at $89.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.99. Stantec has a 12 month low of $73.18 and a 12 month high of $90.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stantec presently 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.