Zacks Research Downgrades Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) to Strong Sell

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

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WMS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Stephens upgraded Advanced Drainage Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $198.00 to $181.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.75.

Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMS opened at $147.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.29. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12 month low of $109.63 and a 12 month high of $179.32.

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

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 87.0% during the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 111,124 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,238,000 after purchasing an additional 51,707 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $7,459,000. Dayah Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Drainage Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $1,755,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the first quarter worth $566,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 0.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,288,672 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,734,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

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.