Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Receives $181.88 Average PT from Analysts

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $188.86.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMS. Barclays increased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $182.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total value of $648,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,530 shares in the company, valued at $773,180.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.68, for a total value of $648,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,530 shares in the company, valued at $773,180.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 85,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.10, for a total transaction of $14,961,805.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,007,555.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 176,004 shares of company stock valued at $30,547,285. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 42,273 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,945,000 after acquiring an additional 6,467 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,320 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,990 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,343 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, JB Capital LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS opened at $161.53 on Friday. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 1-year low of $102.32 and a 1-year high of $184.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $166.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.34. The company has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.96 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.28. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 46.93% and a net margin of 17.74%. The company had revenue of $653.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

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.