Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WMS. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Up 5.8%

NYSE WMS opened at $147.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.80. Advanced Drainage Systems has a twelve month low of $109.63 and a twelve month high of $179.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.29.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.12. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 26.63% and a net margin of 13.98%.The firm had revenue of $676.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $651.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMS. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 16,007 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 377 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 78.1% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 244 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.