HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 406% in the fourth quarter, ending with 27,302 shares valued at about $3.95 million.
• Advanced Drainage Systems recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.07 versus $0.95 expected and revenue of $676.76 million, up 9.9% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.18, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $187 average price target.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 406.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,302 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 21,906 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.8% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,049 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter valued at $403,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,512 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS opened at $139.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $142.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.14 and a 52-week high of $179.32.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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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