Vest Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,358 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,001 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $6,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,949,000 after buying an additional 75,777 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,416,942 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $335,230,000 after acquiring an additional 238,179 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,472,176 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $204,191,000 after acquiring an additional 90,106 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after acquiring an additional 832,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,138,378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,889,000 after purchasing an additional 16,118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $149.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.22. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.69 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.