Capital International Sarl Purchases Shares of 9,354 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Capital International Sarl bought 9,354 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) in Q3, a position worth about $1.297 million, while institutional investors now own roughly 89.83% of the company.
• WMS beat Q4 estimates with $1.27 EPS vs. $1.11 expected and $693.35M in revenue, and shows strong profitability metrics (ROE 27.72%, net margin 15.75%) on a market cap near $11.7B.
• Analysts have been raising targets (consensus "Moderate Buy" and $186 price target), and the company announced a $0.18 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.72, ~0.5% yield).

Capital International Sarl purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,354 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,297,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter worth $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,242.1% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS stock opened at $150.31 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.13 and a 200 day moving average of $149.94. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.00.

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.

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