Castleark Management LLC Takes $986,000 Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Castleark Management initiated a position in Advanced Drainage Systems worth approximately $986,000, while institutional investors collectively own 89.83% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $187, compared with shares trading near $143.13.
• Advanced Drainage Systems exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.07 in EPS and $676.76 million in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share.

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,190 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 during the last quarter. Amundi lifted 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 during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company's stock worth $302,290,000 after acquiring an additional 546,298 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 875.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 458,910 shares of the construction company's stock worth $66,464,000 after acquiring an additional 411,883 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $143.13 on Tuesday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.85 and a 12-month high of $179.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $142.44 and a 200-day moving average of $148.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.71%.

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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