Barclays Cuts Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Price Target to $181.00

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target on Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) to $181 from $198 but kept an "overweight" rating, even though the market consensus price target is higher at $191.
• Shares jumped about 6.9% to $149.86 after the company beat Q results (EPS $1.27 vs. $1.11, revenue $693.35M vs. $686.37M) and shows strong profitability (net margin ~15.8%, ROE ~27.7%), underpinning several analysts' buy/outperform ratings.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $198.00 to $181.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the construction company's stock. Barclays's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.78% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WMS. Robert W. Baird set a $205.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $176.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of NYSE WMS traded up $9.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.86. The company had a trading volume of 103,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,067. Advanced Drainage Systems has a twelve month low of $93.92 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 4.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day moving average is $153.55 and its 200-day moving average is $149.00.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The construction company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.16. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.75% and a return on equity of 27.72%. The business had revenue of $693.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,318,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.0% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc NYSE: WMS is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company's product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.