Cullen Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 5,184 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,172,482,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after purchasing an additional 832,929 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 572,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,290,000 after purchasing an additional 546,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WMS. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $206.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.56.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS opened at $140.35 on Tuesday. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.03 and a 12-month high of $179.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.34 and a 200-day moving average of $147.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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 company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 13.82%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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.