Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $160.31 and last traded at $159.63, with a volume of 135335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.22.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.27. Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 28.85%. The business had revenue of $850.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s payout ratio is 12.29%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related news, insider D. Scott Barbour sold 80,030 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.95, for a total value of $11,920,468.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,385,039.65. This represents a 65.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total value of $731,278.21. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,467 shares in the company, valued at $368,101.07. This trade represents a 66.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock worth $14,605,539 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 3,234 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.5% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,900 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.6% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 100 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 (NYSE: WMS) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of water management solutions in North America. Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, the company specializes in the design, production and distribution of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) drainage pipe and related products. Its core business addresses stormwater management, on-site septic systems and erosion control for residential, commercial and infrastructure projects.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrugated plastic pipe, tubing, fittings, geocells, geogrids and stormwater structures such as inlets, manholes and detention/retention systems.