Analysts Set Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Target Price at $188.38

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $188.3750.

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMS shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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. Stephens raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,049 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.0% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $403,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,512 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE WMS opened at $146.26 on Monday. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52 week low of $128.03 and a 52 week high of $179.32. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.82%.

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.