Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $186.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMS shares. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMS. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,960 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $24,314,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 345.7% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 42,898 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,950,000 after buying an additional 33,274 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,321,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.7% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,982 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after buying an additional 4,574 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE WMS opened at $134.59 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.57.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 27.72% and a net margin of 15.75%.The company had revenue of $693.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.37 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.98%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company 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.