Vestcor Inc Acquires Shares of 2,134 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,134 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew 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 worth $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 164,190 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,804,000 after acquiring an additional 39,593 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.6% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,711 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS stock opened at $110.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $118.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 3.21. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.90 and a 52-week high of $184.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.