Stephens Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS)

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $135.00 price target on the construction company’s stock.

WMS has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WMS opened at $120.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12-month low of $110.75 and a 12-month high of $184.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.97. The company has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 35.79% and a net margin of 15.90%. As a group, analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,452,000 after buying an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,530,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,723,000 after acquiring an additional 650,052 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,384,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $217,553,000 after buying an additional 75,455 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,186,878 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $186,578,000 after purchasing an additional 59,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 854,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,678,000 after purchasing an additional 358,271 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.