Vest Financial LLC Buys 2,664 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,632 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $2,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 593,562 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $68,616,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,584 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 15,408 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $146.00 to $141.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $117.04. 525,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 607,532. The business's 50-day moving average is $110.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 3.21. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $179.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $615.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.