Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WMS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised Advanced Drainage Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $160.00 to $149.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Drainage Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.89.

Advanced Drainage Systems Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.01. 505,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 560,069. The company has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.61. Advanced Drainage Systems has a fifty-two week low of $101.90 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.64.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The construction company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.25). Advanced Drainage Systems had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 35.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMS. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,541,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,452,000 after purchasing an additional 206,105 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,186,000 after acquiring an additional 32,418 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,694,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,399,000 after acquiring an additional 129,252 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,186,878 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $186,578,000 after purchasing an additional 59,158 shares during the period. 89.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.