Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Position Reduced by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP decreased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8%, owning 698,960 shares valued at approximately $75,942,000.
• Advanced Drainage Systems reported a net margin of 14.82% and beat analysts' EPS estimates for the last quarter, with an earnings per share of $1.95 compared to the expected $1.78.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, which will be paid to stockholders on September 15th, yielding an annualized dividend of $0.72 and a yield of 0.5%.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 698,960 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 43,070 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned about 0.90% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $75,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,017 shares of the construction company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 266 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,463 shares of the construction company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.5% in the first quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.7% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 1,896 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMS. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, August 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $159.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, August 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.56.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 1.4%

Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $2.0320 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $141.8980. 1,329,918 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,656. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $166.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.17. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 29.57%. The company had revenue of $829.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $800.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Advanced Drainage Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.