Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens raised Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $134.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 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.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business had revenue of $676.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $651.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $156,587,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 234.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,188,906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,901,000 after acquiring an additional 832,929 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,279,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $185,324,000 after acquiring an additional 572,193 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,290,000 after acquiring an additional 546,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 98.0% in the third quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 968,534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,336,000 after acquiring an additional 479,413 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.