SG Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 328,703 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,591,000. Advanced Drainage Systems makes up 4.1% of SG Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMS. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.0% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 3,234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total value of $1,615,154.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,652,614.32. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $170.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.34. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $93.92 and a one year high of $179.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.08.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 11.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $215.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.00.

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.