Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Shares Bought by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 161.5% to 58,645 shares (about $8.13M), and several other funds also added positions, leaving institutional ownership at roughly 89.83%.
• Wall Street sentiment has trended positive with Barclays, Oppenheimer and RBC raising targets and issuing overweight/outperform calls; overall there are eight Buy ratings and one Hold, giving an average target of $186 and an aggregate rating of “Moderate Buy”.
• Operationally, ADI beat Q4 expectations with $1.27 EPS vs. $1.11 expected and revenue of $693.4M, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 (annualized yield ~0.5%).

Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 161.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,645 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 0.08% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $8,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,960 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,314,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 345.7% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 42,898 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 33,274 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,321,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,982 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 4,574 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 5.7%

NYSE:WMS opened at $138.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.27. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $93.92 and a one year high of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $160.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.84.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid 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 is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is 11.98%.

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.

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