Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook: Advanced Drainage Systems has a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with seven buy ratings, one strong buy, and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $188.70.
• Strong quarterly performance: The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.49 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.10, while revenue reached $1 billion and rose 20.6% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Institutional investors own 89.83% of WMS, with several firms increasing their stakes. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.6% annual yield.

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $188.70.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stephens raised Advanced Drainage Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $206.00 target price on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, August 7th. National Bank Financial set a $190.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 7.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,471 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 95.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 560.7% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,123 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,110,000 after buying an additional 108,732 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $324,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 349,857 shares of the construction company's stock worth $54,914,000 after buying an additional 7,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company's stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

WMS opened at $127.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.28. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $126.39 and a fifty-two week high of $179.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $142.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The construction company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $991.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 14.00%.Advanced Drainage Systems's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.62 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 Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.82%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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.

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