Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 5,734 Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,734 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.8% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,043,909 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $348,709,000 after acquiring an additional 139,495 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,178,763 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $250,253,000 after purchasing an additional 117,963 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,382,070 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $158,745,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 880,373 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $101,120,000 after purchasing an additional 6,154 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $90,989,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $158.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,245,500. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total transaction of $11,920,468.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,385,039.65. This represents a 65.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 97,772 shares of company stock worth $14,605,539 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $158.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.33. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.92 and a fifty-two week high of $159.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.19.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.27. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The company had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 12.29%.

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.