Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $158.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.32. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $81.25 and a fifty-two week high of $176.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $662.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $124,351,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $88,640,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 107.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 567,504 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,814,000 after purchasing an additional 293,924 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 659,483 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,750,000 after purchasing an additional 289,925 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 164.6% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 377,587 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,104,000 after acquiring an additional 234,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,122,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.