Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Separately, KeyCorp cut Myers Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Myers Industries Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE MYE traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $11.78. 222,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,529. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $11.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.74 million, a P/E ratio of 28.04 and a beta of 1.22. Myers Industries has a fifty-two week low of $10.35 and a fifty-two week high of $23.63.

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.04). Myers Industries had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $205.07 million during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Myers Industries will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Myers Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. Myers Industries's payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dave Basque purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.33 per share, for a total transaction of $56,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 29,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $330,292.16. This trade represents a 20.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders purchased a total of 19,500 shares of company stock valued at $232,575 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Myers Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Myers Industries by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 556,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,441,000 after acquiring an additional 60,935 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Myers Industries by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,604,324 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Myers Industries by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,480,597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,810,000 after buying an additional 113,100 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Myers Industries by 50.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 148,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 49,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Myers Industries by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,572,250 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,037,000 after buying an additional 58,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.82% of the company's stock.

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.