Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 81.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,990 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 591,552 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $68,383,000 after buying an additional 12,823 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,981,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 132.3% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 3,511 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,557 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,220,000 after buying an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.2%

WMS traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.01. 1,510,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,292. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $93.92 and a one year high of $179.57. The company's fifty day moving average price is $114.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.60. The company has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 3.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $615.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $653.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.