Oppenheimer Raises Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Price Target to $180.00

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) had its target price increased by Oppenheimer from $172.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on WMS. StockNews.com lowered Advanced Drainage Systems from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $155.57 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $164.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.03. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 1 year low of $80.41 and a 1 year high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 8.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $1,635,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total transaction of $1,635,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,199,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.3% in the first quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $353,000. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,800 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $525,000. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.