Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.20 Per Share

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the construction company on Monday, June 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a 11.1% increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18.

Advanced Drainage Systems has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Advanced Drainage Systems has a dividend payout ratio of 11.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Advanced Drainage Systems to earn $6.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.5%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WMS traded down $1.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $135.30. 2,131,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 843,264. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.33. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52-week low of $105.14 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.80 and its 200-day moving average is $150.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.The company had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMS. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,901 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,949,000 after purchasing an additional 75,777 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position 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 valued at $335,230,000 after purchasing an additional 238,179 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,290,000 after purchasing an additional 546,298 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $204,191,000 after purchasing an additional 90,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,288,672 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,734,000 after purchasing an additional 9,096 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.