Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Raises Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 129.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,584 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 6,531 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $1,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of WMS stock opened at $148.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.89. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.63 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 14.71%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.