Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 114.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,968 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 11,180 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after purchasing an additional 206,105 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,186,000 after acquiring an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,694,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth $8,540,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after purchasing an additional 75,455 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMS. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $120.41 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.75 and a 52 week high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.13. The stock has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.