Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Holdings Lifted by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,436 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,607 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.20% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $21,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 406.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 21,906 shares during the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 69,891.7% in the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 50,394 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,299,000 after purchasing an additional 50,322 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $3,283,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $156,587,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,290,000 after buying an additional 546,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.2%

WMS opened at $150.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.58 and a 200-day moving average of $148.06. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.65 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio 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.