Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Advanced Drainage Systems stake by 46.2% in the second quarter, selling 24,556 shares and retaining 28,541 shares valued at approximately $4.48 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 89.83%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, BlackRock and Norges Bank making significant purchases or adding positions.
• Advanced Drainage Systems reported quarterly earnings of $2.49 per share, beating estimates by $0.39, while revenue rose 20.6% year over year to $1 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $188.70, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,541 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 24,556 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 15,172.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 13,246,953 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,079,242,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160,213 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,172,482,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.70.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $128.12 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $142.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.77. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.39 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is 13.82%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc NYSE: WMS designs and manufactures water management products for the construction, infrastructure, agriculture and residential markets. Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company is known for its thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related systems used to collect, convey, store and manage stormwater and wastewater.

Its product portfolio includes stormwater detention and infiltration systems, sanitary and septic sewer products, agricultural drainage systems, erosion and sediment control products, and water-quality solutions.

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