Royal Bank of Canada Buys 17,607 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 154,436 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,607 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $21,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMS. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $150.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.06. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.65 and a 12-month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $676.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.71%.

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.