Analysts Set Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Target Price at $188.70

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $188.70.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMS. Robert W. Baird set a $206.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Stephens upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. National Bank Financial set a $190.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of WMS opened at $127.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 2.12. Advanced Drainage Systems has a twelve month low of $124.75 and a twelve month high of $179.32.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.The business’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter worth $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc (NYSE: WMS) designs and manufactures water management products for the construction, infrastructure, agriculture and residential markets. Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company is known for its thermoplastic corrugated pipe and related systems used to collect, convey, store and manage stormwater and wastewater.

Its product portfolio includes stormwater detention and infiltration systems, sanitary and septic sewer products, agricultural drainage systems, erosion and sediment control products, and water-quality solutions.