Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires 54,295 Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,645 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,295 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.19% of Advanced Drainage Systems worth $17,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company's stock worth $399,452,000 after acquiring an additional 206,105 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,186,878 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $186,578,000 after buying an additional 59,158 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $85,399,000 after buying an additional 129,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 579,485 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $91,683,000 after buying an additional 128,539 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMS shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS stock traded down $3.02 on Friday, reaching $114.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 541,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,601. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $120.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.21. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.75 and a 1 year high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. Analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.