Archon Partners LLC Makes New $5.79 Million Investment in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Archon Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,793,000. Archon Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Advanced Drainage Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,949,000 after purchasing an additional 75,777 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 10.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,416,942 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $335,230,000 after purchasing an additional 238,179 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 6.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,472,176 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $204,191,000 after purchasing an additional 90,106 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $185,324,000 after purchasing an additional 572,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,453 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,184,000 after purchasing an additional 15,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $138.95 on Thursday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.63 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

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.