Advanced Drainage Systems - WMS Stock Forecast, Price & News

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the underground construction and infrastructure marketplace in the United States, Canada, Mexico, 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, mechanical aeration wastewater solutions, septic tanks and accessories, and combined treatment and dispersal systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators. The company also purchases and distributes construction fabrics and other geosynthetic products for soil stabilization, reinforcement, filtration, separation, erosion control, and sub-surface drainage, as well as drainage grates and other products. It offers its products for non-residential, residential, agriculture, and infrastructure applications through a network of approximately 38 distribution centers. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $158.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $142.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $135.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $119.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 5th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.50.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $152.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.78. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $105.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.07. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52-week low of $80.81 and a 52-week high of $153.36. The company has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96 and a beta of 1.51.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 4th. The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $1.22. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 47.99%. The firm had revenue of $914.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $849.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 31st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Advanced Drainage Systems's payout ratio is 10.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 5,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.84, for a total value of $845,288.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,095,258.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 5,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.84, for a total transaction of $845,288.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,510 shares in the company, valued at $1,095,258.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Kevin C. Talley sold 26,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.54, for a total transaction of $2,399,310.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 62,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,615,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 403,913 shares of company stock valued at $45,944,459. Insiders own 9.33% of the company's stock.