Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $185.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens raised Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:WMS opened at $152.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.26. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52-week low of $109.63 and a 52-week high of $179.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $651.92 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 14.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 352.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 226 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 150.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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.