Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 39,593 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 31.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,190 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 39,593 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $25,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMS. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 63,780 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,006,000 after acquiring an additional 12,655 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $525,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,059,000 after buying an additional 19,626 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,251,353,000 after acquiring an additional 395,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter valued at about $580,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.9 %

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $131.42 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.98 and a 1-year high of $184.27. The company has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 10.19%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.