Head to Head Analysis: Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) vs. Its Peers

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) is one of 93 public companies in the “Building Products” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Advanced Drainage Systems to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Advanced Drainage Systems and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advanced Drainage Systems	0	2	8	0	2.80
Advanced Drainage Systems Competitors	742	3944	5074	241	2.48

Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus price target of $184.40, indicating a potential upside of 42.36%. As a group, “Building Products” companies have a potential upside of 24.53%. Given Advanced Drainage Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Advanced Drainage Systems is more favorable than its competitors.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.8% of Advanced Drainage Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.6% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Advanced Drainage Systems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Advanced Drainage Systems has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advanced Drainage Systems’ competitors have a beta of 1.07, indicating that their average share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Advanced Drainage Systems pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems pays out 15.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Building Products” companies pay a dividend yield of 7.0% and pay out 37.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Advanced Drainage Systems has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Advanced Drainage Systems and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advanced Drainage Systems	$3.26 billion	$426.46 million	24.63
Advanced Drainage Systems Competitors	$4.04 billion	$4.65 billion	39.25

Advanced Drainage Systems’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Advanced Drainage Systems. Advanced Drainage Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Advanced Drainage Systems and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advanced Drainage Systems	12.44%	27.88%	11.76%
Advanced Drainage Systems Competitors	3.89%	-38.18%	5.03%

Summary

Advanced Drainage Systems beats its competitors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE: WMS) manufactures water-management products for infrastructure, construction, agriculture and residential markets. Its offerings include thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related products used to manage stormwater, drainage and wastewater. The company also provides stormwater storage, treatment and infiltration systems, as well as products for onsite wastewater and septic systems through its Infiltrator Water Technologies business. Its portfolio includes solutions for projects ranging from roadways and commercial developments to residential wastewater applications.