Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $161.19 and last traded at $158.23, with a volume of 210777 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $176.00 target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.33.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Down 0.5%

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 company has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.68.

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

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given 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 presently 12.29%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,500. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 4,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.21, for a total value of $731,278.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,101.07. This represents 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 have sold 97,772 shares of company stock valued at $14,605,539. Company insiders own 1.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pier Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 69,891.7% during the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 50,394 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,299,000 after buying an additional 50,322 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $265,000. Welch Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 704.7% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 13,592 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 11,903 shares during the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

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.