Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases New Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,722 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 406.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 21,906 shares in the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 69,891.7% during the fourth quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 50,394 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,299,000 after buying an additional 50,322 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 166,469 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,110,000 after buying an additional 30,557 shares in the last quarter. Elevatus Welath Management acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,600,000. Finally, Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,283,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $140.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.26. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.85 and a 52 week high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Advanced Drainage Systems 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.