Natixis Advisors LLC Has $2.95 Million Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. by 45.7%, owning 27,189 shares worth approximately $2.95 million after acquiring an additional 8,531 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings for Advanced Drainage Systems show a mixed outlook, with price targets adjusted and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", alongside an average price target of $139.88.
• Advanced Drainage Systems recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.18 per share, up from $0.16, reflecting a positive change and offering a yield of 0.6%.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 45.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,189 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,531 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 76.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 266 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 97.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,769 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 5,319 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,914 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 167.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 812 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 17.1%

Shares of NYSE:WMS traded up $19.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $133.40. 2,589,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 626,856. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.40. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $166.03. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $829.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $800.54 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 32.33%. The business's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is 12.50%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.