Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)’s stock price reached 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.19.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other Advanced Drainage Systems news, EVP Thomas J. Sr. Waun sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,245,500. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $368,101.07. The trade was a 66.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539. Company insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 134.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 3,028 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $203,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Advanced Drainage Systems by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,982 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter worth $1,321,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,651 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,669,000 after buying an additional 13,097 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 (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.