Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) Competitors

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, earnings, community ranking, dividends and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, WMS or LVS?

Advanced Drainage Systems has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of WMS or LVS?

89.8% of Advanced Drainage Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Advanced Drainage Systems shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer WMS or LVS?

Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus price target of $139.88, indicating a potential upside of 23.30%. Las Vegas Sands has a consensus price target of $56.75, indicating a potential upside of 39.83%. Given Las Vegas Sands' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Las Vegas Sands is more favorable than Advanced Drainage Systems.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advanced Drainage Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88
Las Vegas Sands	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is WMS or LVS a better dividend stock?

Advanced Drainage Systems pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Las Vegas Sands pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Advanced Drainage Systems pays out 12.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Las Vegas Sands pays out 55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Advanced Drainage Systems has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Las Vegas Sands has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Las Vegas Sands is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in WMS or LVS?

Las Vegas Sands received 937 more outperform votes than Advanced Drainage Systems when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.51% of users gave Las Vegas Sands an outperform vote while only 54.02% of users gave Advanced Drainage Systems an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Advanced Drainage Systems	Outperform Votes 363 54.02%	Underperform Votes 309 45.98%
Las Vegas Sands	Outperform Votes 1300 71.51%	Underperform Votes 518 28.49%

Does the media prefer WMS or LVS?

In the previous week, Advanced Drainage Systems had 18 more articles in the media than Las Vegas Sands. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Advanced Drainage Systems and 11 mentions for Las Vegas Sands. Las Vegas Sands' average media sentiment score of 0.75 beat Advanced Drainage Systems' score of 0.59 indicating that Las Vegas Sands is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Advanced Drainage Systems	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Las Vegas Sands	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is WMS or LVS more profitable?

Advanced Drainage Systems has a net margin of 15.90% compared to Las Vegas Sands' net margin of 12.80%. Las Vegas Sands' return on equity of 45.82% beat Advanced Drainage Systems' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advanced Drainage Systems	15.90%	35.79%	13.73%
Las Vegas Sands	12.80%	45.82%	8.00%

Which has better valuation and earnings, WMS or LVS?

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than Advanced Drainage Systems. Advanced Drainage Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Las Vegas Sands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advanced Drainage Systems	$2.90B	3.03	$509.92M	$5.76	19.69
Las Vegas Sands	$11.20B	2.56	$1.45B	$1.80	22.55

Summary

Las Vegas Sands beats Advanced Drainage Systems on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.