Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $160.31 and last traded at $159.63, with a volume of 135335 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $159.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.64.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $850.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $802.49 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.85% and a net margin of 15.35%.Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, Director Robert M. Eversole sold 10,569 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director owned 50,076 shares in the company, valued at $7,652,614.32. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total value of $11,920,468.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,385,039.65. The trade was a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 177.4% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 430 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 77.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,371 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 11,036.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 5,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $336,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) 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.