Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $3,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the first quarter worth about $220,853,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,251,353,000 after buying an additional 395,099 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,519,118 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,609,000 after buying an additional 219,629 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 136.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 312,393 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,105,000 after buying an additional 180,154 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,870,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $150.07 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.31. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.32 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The company has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.53. 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 (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $815.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $828.00 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 43.60% and a net margin of 17.09%. Analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

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.