Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Trading 9.8% Higher on Earnings Beat

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS – Get Rating)’s share price traded up 9.8% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $132.48 and last traded at $132.24. 7,828 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 99% from the average session volume of 579,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.45.

The construction company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $1.22. The business had revenue of $914.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $849.39 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 9.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 31st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WMS shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $158.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $142.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 28th. TheStreet downgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $135.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $119.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Kevin C. Talley sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.54, for a total value of $2,399,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 62,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,615,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Kevin C. Talley sold 26,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.54, for a total value of $2,399,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 62,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,615,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anil Seetharam sold 108,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.69, for a total value of $11,839,166.94. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,054,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,071,539.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 355,426 shares of company stock valued at $38,979,477 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 1,168.4% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 19.1% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 798 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Ellevest Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the second quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.10% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 2.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.96 and a 200 day moving average of $108.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.37 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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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.