Castleark Management LLC Makes New $986,000 Investment in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,190 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 valued at $164,901,000 after buying an additional 832,929 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $185,324,000 after buying an additional 572,193 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 875.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 458,910 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,464,000 after buying an additional 411,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $143.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.44 and a 200-day moving average of $148.66. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.85 and a 1-year high of $179.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMS. Stephens raised Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.00.

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.