Brokerages Set Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Price Target at $170.29

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.29.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMS. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after buying an additional 206,105 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.7% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,091 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $229,372,000 after acquiring an additional 64,618 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after acquiring an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,382,735 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,777,000 after acquiring an additional 7,690 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,186,878 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,578,000 after purchasing an additional 59,158 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

WMS opened at $115.58 on Wednesday. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12-month low of $113.88 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $134.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 10.19%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.