Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) & Its Rivals Critical Contrast

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) is one of 93 publicly-traded companies in the “Building Products” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Advanced Drainage Systems to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Advanced Drainage Systems pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Advanced Drainage Systems pays out 13.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Building Products” companies pay a dividend yield of 7.2% and pay out 37.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Advanced Drainage Systems has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Advanced Drainage Systems and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advanced Drainage Systems	12.44%	27.88%	11.76%
Advanced Drainage Systems Competitors	3.95%	-38.96%	5.04%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Advanced Drainage Systems and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advanced Drainage Systems	0	2	8	0	2.80
Advanced Drainage Systems Competitors	740	3935	5067	239	2.48

Advanced Drainage Systems presently has a consensus target price of $184.40, indicating a potential upside of 48.58%. As a group, “Building Products” companies have a potential upside of 29.86%. Given Advanced Drainage Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Advanced Drainage Systems is more favorable than its peers.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.8% of Advanced Drainage Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.6% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Advanced Drainage Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Advanced Drainage Systems and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advanced Drainage Systems	$3.05 billion	$426.46 million	21.44
Advanced Drainage Systems Competitors	$4.00 billion	$4.65 billion	36.47

Advanced Drainage Systems’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Advanced Drainage Systems. Advanced Drainage Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Advanced Drainage Systems has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advanced Drainage Systems’ peers have a beta of 1.07, meaning that their average share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Advanced Drainage Systems beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

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. The company also purchases and distributes construction fabrics and other geosynthetic products for soil stabilization, reinforcement, filtration, separation, erosion control, and sub-surface drainage, as well as drainage grates and other products. In addition, it provides PVC hubs, rubber sleeves, and stainless-steel bands. The company offers its products for non-residential, residential, agriculture, and infrastructure applications through a network of distribution centers. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio.