Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $8.66 Million in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 55,178 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,661,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $135.97 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $128.03 and a one year high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.Advanced Drainage Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 13.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. National Bank Financial set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, August 24th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.70.

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.