Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Separately, KeyCorp raised shares of Myers Industries from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 13th.

Myers Industries Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE MYE traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.69. The company had a trading volume of 166,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,914. The firm's 50 day moving average is $12.38 and its 200 day moving average is $11.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Myers Industries has a fifty-two week low of $9.06 and a fifty-two week high of $17.39. The company has a market capitalization of $549.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.46 and a beta of 1.12.

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $206.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.80 million. Myers Industries had a return on equity of 14.02% and a net margin of 1.26%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Myers Industries will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Myers Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Myers Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 192.86%.

Myers Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 6th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Myers Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MYE. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Myers Industries by 4.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 54,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Myers Industries by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 437,753 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,833,000 after purchasing an additional 11,985 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Myers Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Barington Capital Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Myers Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,055,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Myers Industries by 828.5% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 227,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,509,000 after buying an additional 202,805 shares in the last quarter. 90.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.