Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $135.00 target price on the construction company's stock, down from their previous target price of $170.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WMS. Barclays reduced their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $194.00 to $172.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $174.00 to $161.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded up $2.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,006,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,553. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12 month low of $116.98 and a 12 month high of $184.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $150.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.35. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.53.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $819.41 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 16.89% and a return on equity of 40.31%. Advanced Drainage Systems's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,265,169 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,251,353,000 after purchasing an additional 395,099 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,519,118 shares of the construction company's stock worth $261,609,000 after buying an additional 219,629 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.7% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,091 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $229,372,000 after buying an additional 64,618 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.8% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,382,735 shares of the construction company's stock worth $221,777,000 after acquiring an additional 7,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company's stock.

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.