Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. by 23.9%, owning approximately $12.79 million worth of shares by the end of the first quarter.
• Investment firms such as UBS and Impax Asset Management have also significantly boosted their positions in Advanced Drainage Systems, indicating strong institutional interest with 89.83% of the company's stock held by institutional investors.
• Advanced Drainage Systems recently reported earnings exceeding expectations, achieving $1.95 EPS and revenue of $829.88 million for the quarter.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 23.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,661 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,692 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.15% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $12,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 46,058 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,324,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 92.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 136,718 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,805,000 after purchasing an additional 65,760 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 71,860 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $5.21 on Friday, reaching $141.58. The stock had a trading volume of 792,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,871. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.00. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $166.03.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $829.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $800.54 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 29.57% and a net margin of 14.82%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is 13.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WMS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $140.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.56.

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.