Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $116.01, but opened at $122.12. Advanced Drainage Systems shares last traded at $113.84, with a volume of 49,014 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 10.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.19. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.70.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,530,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,723,000 after acquiring an additional 650,052 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after purchasing an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Fernbridge Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 108.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fernbridge Capital Management LP now owns 253,549 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,848,000 after purchasing an additional 131,781 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $85,399,000 after purchasing an additional 129,252 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 579,485 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $91,683,000 after purchasing an additional 128,539 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.