Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Increases Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,764 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,075 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.19% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $22,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $220,853,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,251,353,000 after acquiring an additional 395,099 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,519,118 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $261,609,000 after acquiring an additional 219,629 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 136.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 312,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,105,000 after acquiring an additional 180,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,870,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $192.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.14.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS opened at $152.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.89. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.31 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.08. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 17.09% and a return on equity of 43.60%. The business had revenue of $815.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $828.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.13%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.