Stephens Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS)

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $135.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $170.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of WMS stock opened at $131.42 on Wednesday. Advanced Drainage Systems has a one year low of $116.98 and a one year high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.76. The stock has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last released 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 business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 10.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 319.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 151 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 133.3% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,472.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 123.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 386 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.