ELCO Management Co. LLC Grows Stock Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

ELCO Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,319 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. FMR LLC lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 54,341 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,540,000 after buying an additional 18,313 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth about $259,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after purchasing an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 9.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,249 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,182,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMS. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.78.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $96.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.70. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.39 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. On average, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 10.70%.

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.