HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 160,290 Shares of Myers Industries, Inc. $MYE

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Myers Industries, Inc. by 1,347.8%, acquiring an additional 160,290 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 172,183 shares valued at approximately $2.05 million.
• Equities research analysts have upgraded Myers Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, with a target price of $21.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Myers Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.3%, although its dividend payout ratio is unusually high at 207.69%.

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE - Free Report) by 1,347.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,183 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 160,290 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Myers Industries worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Myers Industries in the 1st quarter worth $9,247,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Myers Industries in the 1st quarter worth $503,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Myers Industries by 10.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 420,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,021,000 after buying an additional 39,504 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Myers Industries by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,684,971 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,032,000 after buying an additional 82,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Myers Industries during the first quarter valued at $201,000. 90.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Myers Industries Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MYE traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $16.71. The company had a trading volume of 17,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,447. The stock has a market capitalization of $625.12 million, a P/E ratio of 64.27 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.09. Myers Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.06 and a twelve month high of $17.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.60 million. Myers Industries had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 1.20%. On average, equities analysts expect that Myers Industries, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Myers Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Myers Industries's payout ratio is currently 207.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MYE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded Myers Industries from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Myers Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

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.