Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 553.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,759 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,908 shares during the quarter. Advanced Drainage Systems makes up 3.2% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. owned 0.06% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $4,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 171,222 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,312 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,512 shares of the construction company's stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,698 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 49,867 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,418,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% in the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on 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. Oppenheimer decreased 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. Barclays increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $113.58 on Wednesday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.92 and a 52-week high of $179.57. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.46.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm 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 business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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