Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Receives $159.13 Average Target Price from Analysts

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $159.13.

Several research firms have commented on WMS. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of WMS stock opened at $160.32 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.85. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $80.41 and a fifty-two week high of $176.31.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given 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 0.35%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.90%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

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

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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.