Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Stock Keeps Outperform Rating at Oppenheimer

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Oppenheimer in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $180.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $185.00. Oppenheimer‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 46.44% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WMS. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $178.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. DA Davidson set a $180.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday. National Bank Financial set a $190.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $191.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.10.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $122.91. 368,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,025. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $130.34 and its 200 day moving average is $143.25. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $119.53 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The construction company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $889.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $921.79 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.3% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 72,044 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,129,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 26.9% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 12.8% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 9,612 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 64.2% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 10,420 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 4,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Advanced Drainage Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Advanced Drainage Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target to $183 from $191 but kept its “overweight” rating. The new target still indicates substantial upside from the price cited in the report. Tickerreport article
• Neutral Sentiment: ADS declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable December 15 to shareholders of record December 1. The annualized dividend is $0.80, a yield of about 0.6%. Dividend details
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q2 revenue was $889.4 million, below analysts’ $921.8 million estimate. EPS was $1.88: above the $1.81 consensus cited in one report, but just below Zacks’ $1.89 estimate and down from $1.97 a year earlier. Earnings coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage also flagged a guidance cut, adding to concerns raised by the revenue miss and contributing to the negative reaction to the results. Guidance coverage

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) is a manufacturer of water management products and solutions. The company produces thermoplastic corrugated pipe, fittings, drainage structures, stormwater chambers and related products used to manage the collection, conveyance, storage and treatment of water.

Its products serve a range of markets, including residential, commercial, agricultural, infrastructure and environmental applications. Advanced Drainage Systems supplies solutions for stormwater management, septic and wastewater systems, highway and road construction, land development, agriculture and erosion control.

Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company serves customers through a manufacturing and distribution network primarily covering the United States and Canada, with additional international operations.