Vest Financial LLC Raises Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,031 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,399 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $3,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,537,094 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $818,905,000 after purchasing an additional 204,826 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,114,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $338,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,697 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.8% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,904,414 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $314,700,000 after purchasing an additional 374,414 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,734,537 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $188,457,000 after purchasing an additional 45,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 38.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,181,199 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $127,223,000 after purchasing an additional 326,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $166.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.56.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of WMS opened at $135.54 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.22 and its 200 day moving average is $122.47. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.92 and a fifty-two week high of $166.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 3.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.17. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 29.57%. The company had revenue of $829.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $800.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Advanced Drainage Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

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.