Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) Increases Dividend to $0.16 Per Share

Stantec Inc. (NYSE:STN) (TSE:STN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Zacks Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.155 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Stantec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Stantec has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Stantec has a payout ratio of 16.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Stantec to earn $3.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.6%.

Stantec Stock Performance

Shares of STN stock opened at $78.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85 and a beta of 0.99. Stantec has a one year low of $76.03 and a one year high of $88.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STN has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Scotiabank began coverage on Stantec in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stantec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.