Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $185.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMS shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,049 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,512 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $154.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. Advanced Drainage Systems has a one year low of $109.63 and a one year high of $179.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 26.63%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.71%.

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.