Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $166.88.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMS shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target 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.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS opened at $125.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.40. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $110.75 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after acquiring an additional 206,105 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,382,735 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,777,000 after purchasing an additional 7,690 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 59,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 13.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 772,588 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,920,000 after purchasing an additional 94,019 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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.