Swedbank AB Sells 150,430 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Key Points

• Swedbank AB cut its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 41.6%, selling 150,430 shares and ending the quarter with 210,800 shares (about a 0.27% position) valued at $30.53 million.
• Analysts are broadly positive with 7 Buy and 1 Hold ratings and an average price target of $190.29, versus the recent share price near $143.96, implying notable analyst upside.
• Advanced Drainage recently beat quarterly expectations with $1.27 EPS (vs. $1.11 est.) and $693.35M revenue (vs. $686.37M est.), reporting a 15.75% net margin and 27.72% ROE.

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 210,800 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 150,430 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.27% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $30,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,960 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,314,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 345.7% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 42,898 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 33,274 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,982 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevatus Welath Management acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,600,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of WMS opened at $143.96 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.69 and a 52 week high of $179.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The business had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems 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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