Bank of Montreal Can Raises Stock Holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 20.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,568 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 12,559 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.10% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $11,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,472.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 65.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $135.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.26 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $147.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMS. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.29.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.