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

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of 0.1574 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.63 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 increased its dividend by an average of 8.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Stantec has a payout ratio of 15.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Price Performance

STN stock traded up $5.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.36. The company had a trading volume of 376,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,461. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62 and a beta of 1.01. Stantec has a 12-month low of $73.18 and a 12-month high of $90.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on STN. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James upgraded Stantec from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.