Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Cuts Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd decreased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,417 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 118,217 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd owned approximately 0.08% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $8,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $973,000. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,087 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $143.66 on Wednesday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.63 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The company has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $141.86 and a 200-day moving average of $148.94.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The company had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

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.