Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $19.10 Million Stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. $WMS

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,715 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,816 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.18% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $19,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,242.1% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 255 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 341.6% in the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $176.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS opened at $156.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.92 and a 12 month high of $161.19. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.00.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.29%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,245,500. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total transaction of $731,278.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,101.07. This trade represents a 66.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539. Corporate insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

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.