Steele Capital Management Inc. Takes $430,000 Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.60. 40,912 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 455,231. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.50. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.25 and a one year high of $176.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.03.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $662.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.90%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.