Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 16th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the construction company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Advanced Drainage Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14.

Advanced Drainage Systems has increased its dividend by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Advanced Drainage Systems has a dividend payout ratio of 7.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Advanced Drainage Systems to earn $7.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.1%.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

NYSE:WMS opened at $174.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.27. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.96. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $89.20 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.28. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 46.93% and a net margin of 17.74%. The business had revenue of $653.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. Advanced Drainage Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMS. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stephens upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $182.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.00.

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.