Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

WMS has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS stock opened at $114.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12-month low of $101.90 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $119.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.02.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.70%.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMS. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after purchasing an additional 75,455 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,151 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,695,000 after purchasing an additional 10,902 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,638 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $539,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 96,350 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,142,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.