Acquisitions slow STN

Article Excerpt

STANTEC INC. $34.68 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 114.1 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%) sells a range of consulting, project management, design and technology services. For the three months ended December 31, 2016, Stantec’s recent acquisitions and a stronger U.S. dollar boosted its revenue to $820.2 million. That’s a 44.6% jump from the $567.4 million in sales a year earlier. Costs related to those recent acquisitions slowed profit. Earnings in the quarter rose 16.2%, to $29.4 million from $25.3 million. Pershare earnings rose just 2.9%, to $0.35 from $0.34, on more shares outstanding. Stantec has just raised its quarterly dividend by 11.1%. The shares now yield 1.4%. Stantec is a hold. hold…