Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

WMS has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 1.4 %

Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $114.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 52 week low of $101.90 and a 52 week high of $184.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.02. 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 (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 10.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after acquiring an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,186,000 after acquiring an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth $2,694,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the third quarter worth $8,540,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $217,553,000 after acquiring an additional 75,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.