Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 20,800 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,852,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after acquiring an additional 832,929 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $185,324,000 after acquiring an additional 572,193 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 98.0% during the 3rd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 968,534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,336,000 after acquiring an additional 479,413 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 875.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 458,910 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,464,000 after purchasing an additional 411,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of WMS stock opened at $154.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $141.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.63 and a 12-month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.75.

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.