Alps Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 3,220 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,220 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $90,989,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,209.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 260,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,933,000 after buying an additional 240,709 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 327.3% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 235,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,992,000 after buying an additional 180,000 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,314,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 363.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 187,270 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $21,509,000 after buying an additional 146,884 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.9%

WMS opened at $170.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $154.69 and a 200-day moving average of $145.85. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.The business had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 11.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total transaction of $1,615,154.58. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,652,614.32. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.