Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a drop of 27.4% from the August 31st total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 679,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, August 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $119.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $158.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $142.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $135.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $152.00.
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Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Brian W. King sold 1,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.98, for a total transaction of $263,632.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $505,131.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 5,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.84, for a total transaction of $845,288.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,258.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian W. King sold 1,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.98, for a total value of $263,632.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $505,131.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 454,694 shares of company stock valued at $62,363,942. 9.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMS. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $79,003,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 620.5% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 770,259 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $91,514,000 after purchasing an additional 663,347 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 11.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,287,218 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $628,174,000 after purchasing an additional 526,175 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,001,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 20.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,701,136 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $202,072,000 after purchasing an additional 285,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.
Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 0.5 %
WMS opened at $120.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71 and a beta of 1.45. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52 week low of $80.81 and a 52 week high of $153.36. The business's 50 day moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.
Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The construction company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $914.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 47.99% and a net margin of 12.65%. The firm's revenue was up 36.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.39 EPS for the current year.
Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 31st. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.67%.
About Advanced Drainage Systems
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Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the underground construction and infrastructure marketplace in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.
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