Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires Shares of 55,178 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 55,178 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, valued at approximately $8.66 million, giving it a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 89.83% of the company.
• Advanced Drainage Systems exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.49 EPS versus the $2.10 consensus and $1 billion in revenue, up 20.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.70, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 55,178 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,661,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.07% of Advanced Drainage Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the construction company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,512 shares of the construction company's stock worth $11,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS opened at $135.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.88 and a 200-day moving average of $146.01. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.03 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.12.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.39 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. National Bank Financial set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.70.

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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