D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 202,805 Shares of Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE - Free Report) by 828.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 202,805 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Myers Industries worth $2,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MYE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Myers Industries by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,845,000 after buying an additional 58,761 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Myers Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Myers Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. Barington Capital Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Myers Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $9,055,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Myers Industries by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares during the period. 90.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Myers Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Myers Industries Stock Down 1.1%

Myers Industries stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.08. The stock had a trading volume of 183,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,593. The company has a market capitalization of $451.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.52. Myers Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $9.06 and a one year high of $17.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $206.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.80 million. Myers Industries had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 14.75%. On average, analysts expect that Myers Industries, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Myers Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Myers Industries's payout ratio is 192.86%.

Myers Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 6th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Myers Industries Company Profile

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.