Brokerages Set Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) PT at $165.33

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.3333.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.82, for a total value of $1,615,154.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 50,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,652,614.32. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total transaction of $731,278.21. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,101.07. This represents a 66.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 97,772 shares of company stock worth $14,605,539 over the last three months. 1.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Welch Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 704.7% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 13,592 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16,022.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $156.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 1 year low of $93.92 and a 1 year high of $160.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.48.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.27. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The firm had revenue of $850.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 12.29%.

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.