Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Price Target Lowered to $146.00 at UBS Group

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $155.00 to $146.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

WMS has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 3.6%

WMS stock opened at $121.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52-week low of $93.92 and a 52-week high of $181.03. The firm has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.31.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The construction company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.06). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $615.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.70%.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,537,094 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $818,905,000 after acquiring an additional 204,826 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,904,414 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $314,700,000 after buying an additional 374,414 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,064,527 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,659,000 after buying an additional 799,569 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,734,537 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,457,000 after buying an additional 45,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,732,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $200,315,000 after buying an additional 544,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America 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; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.