Thematics Asset Management Acquires 4,000 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Thematics Asset Management raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $14,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 117.5% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,059,000 after purchasing an additional 19,626 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the first quarter worth $861,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 122.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after buying an additional 6,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMS. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $3.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.14. 43,473 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,646. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.21. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.97 and a 1-year high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.19. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced 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 net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 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.