Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MYE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Myers Industries in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Myers Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Myers Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Myers Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:MYE opened at $19.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $718.27 million, a P/E ratio of 25.95 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.30. Myers Industries has a twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $19.87.

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. Myers Industries had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $205.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.40 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Myers Industries will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Myers Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Myers Industries’s payout ratio is currently 72.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Myers Industries news, Director Helmuth Ludwig purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.21 per share, with a total value of $86,050.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,233.56. This represents a 59.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Samantha Rutty acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $52,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 9,000 shares of company stock worth $156,000 over the last quarter. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Myers Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MYE. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Myers Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Myers Industries by 43.3% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 25,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 7,662 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Myers Industries in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Myers Industries during the third quarter valued at about $174,000. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Myers Industries during the third quarter worth about $3,295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.82% of the company’s stock.

About Myers Industries

Myers Industries, Inc engages in distribution of tire service supplies in Ohio. It operates through two segments, The Material Handling and Distribution. The Material Handling segment offers pallets, small parts bins, bulk shipping containers, and OEM parts, as well as storage and organization, and custom plastic products; and injection molded, rotationally molded or blow molded products, consumer fuel containers and tanks for water, fuel, and waste handling.