Advanced Drainage Systems’ (WMS) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $175.00 price target on the construction company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. National Bank Financial set a $190.00 price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.70.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $126.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.12. Advanced Drainage Systems has a one year low of $124.75 and a one year high of $179.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $139.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.79.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The business’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. Analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 13.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 406.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 21,906 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,172,482,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,204,801 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,290,000 after purchasing an additional 546,298 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $156,587,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $5,170,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) designs and manufactures water management products for the construction, infrastructure, agriculture and residential markets. Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company is known for its thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related systems used to collect, convey, store and manage stormwater and wastewater.

Its product portfolio includes stormwater detention and infiltration systems, sanitary and septic sewer products, agricultural drainage systems, erosion and sediment control products, and water-quality solutions.