Oppenheimer Increases Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Price Target to $180.00

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $172.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the construction company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.70% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Stephens lifted their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Advanced Drainage Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.13.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $155.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 1-year low of $80.41 and a 1-year high of $176.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.78 and its 200 day moving average is $138.89.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $662.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $632.69 million. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 49.79% and a net margin of 17.65%. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Advanced Drainage Systems

In related news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Ross M. Jones sold 762,895 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $124,351,885.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,749 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,087. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael G. Huebert sold 10,000 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.52, for a total value of $1,635,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Drainage Systems

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the third quarter worth $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems in the second quarter worth $33,000. 89.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Advanced Drainage Systems

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments.