WMS Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.
$133.00
Cyclical & Capital-Intensive 80%
Normalized Earnings × Cycle Multiple
Moderate · Conviction

Overvalued

Trading 17.7% above fair value

You pay $133.00
Bear $82.84
Fair $112.97
Bull $143.09
Bear $82.84 -37.7% $5.76 × 14x + net cash
Fair $112.97 -15.1% $5.76 × 18x + net cash
Bull $143.09 +7.6% $5.76 × 22x + net cash

Key Value Driver

Through-cycle normalized EPS ($5.76)

Implied Market Multiple 23.1x

Summary

Our base-case estimate uses Normalized Earnings × Cycle Multiple. We then blend that result with the average analyst price target of $192.67 from 22 analysts, using a 25% weight on analyst consensus. That produces an estimated intrinsic value of $112.97 per share.

Warnings

This company has a built-in lending arm whose debt is mixed in with the main business. We capped the debt adjustment to avoid overstating what the core business owes.
Price-to-book value of 247.6x is above the normal range for this type of business (0.7x-2.0x). The stock may already price in a strong cycle.
Wall Street's average price target is $192.67 (from 22 analysts). Our estimate is 55% below the consensus -- consider that gap carefully.

Key Risks

  • Standard 10-year DCF produces unreliable terminal values for cyclicals
  • 'Cheap' P/E at cycle peak is the most common value trap — normalize first
  • Captive finance subsidiaries have different risk profiles from manufacturing