Fortis Group Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,825 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,825 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 period. Interval Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 98.0% during the 3rd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 968,534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,336,000 after purchasing an additional 479,413 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $45,591,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 586.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 285,810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,642,000 after purchasing an additional 244,202 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 933,851 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,525,000 after purchasing an additional 241,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WMS opened at $135.30 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.18. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.14 and a twelve month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $676.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 11.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.83.

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.