Hill City Capital LP Takes Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Hill City Capital LP acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 480,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,341,000. Advanced Drainage Systems accounts for about 1.9% of Hill City Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.8% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,049 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter worth $403,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,512 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMS shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $206.00 price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.38.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.1%

WMS stock opened at $143.91 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.25. The company has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $128.03 and a 12 month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.82%.

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.