Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 20,146 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 163,910 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,146 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $18,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,271 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 781 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,638 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WMS opened at $125.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.39. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.51. 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 twelve month low of $110.75 and a twelve month high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.41 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

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.