Brokerages Set Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Price Target at $139.88

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $139.88.

WMS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $143.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 92.6% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,920 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 7,655 shares during the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,973 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 22,582 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 38.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded down $2.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $110.82. The company had a trading volume of 838,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 632,763. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $115.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.54. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52 week low of $93.92 and a 52 week high of $179.57.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $615.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.22 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 32.33% and a net margin of 15.50%. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is 12.50%.

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.