Wall Street Zen Upgrades Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) to "Buy"

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Myers Industries Price Performance

NYSE:MYE traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.40. The stock had a trading volume of 135,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,040. Myers Industries has a 12 month low of $9.06 and a 12 month high of $17.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $500.92 million, a PE ratio of 31.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.54.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. Myers Industries had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $206.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.80 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Myers Industries will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Myers Industries announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Myers Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Myers Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Myers Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $309,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Myers Industries by 2.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,985 shares in the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. bought a new stake in Myers Industries during the 4th quarter worth $9,055,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Myers Industries by 828.5% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 227,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 202,805 shares during the last quarter. 90.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.