D.B. Root & Company LLC Buys 2,227 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 64.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,658 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 642.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 418.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 897 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WMS. Barclays cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.2 %

WMS opened at $125.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.71 and a 200 day moving average of $143.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.75 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.51.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 10.19%.

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.