Cercano Management LLC Lowers Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Cercano Management LLC reduced its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 49.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,224 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 96,561 shares during the quarter. Cercano Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $13,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,929 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter valued at about $402,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 23.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,705 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,256,000 after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter worth about $976,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $187.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $170.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $179.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 3.08.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $686.37 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total transaction of $1,615,154.58. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,652,614.32. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

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.