Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) Stock Price Up 7.9% Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) traded up 7.9% during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $13.21 and last traded at $13.47. 402,787 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 308,052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.48.

The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.09. Myers Industries had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $203.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.10 million.

Myers Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Myers Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Myers Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 6th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Myers Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dave Basque bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.41 per share, for a total transaction of $62,050.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 39,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,876.32. This represents a 14.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Myers Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MYE. Barington Capital Group L.P. acquired a new position in Myers Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,055,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Myers Industries by 824.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 887,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,801,000 after buying an additional 791,780 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Myers Industries by 175.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 805,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,895,000 after purchasing an additional 513,431 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Myers Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,269,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Myers Industries by 605.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 388,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,293,000 after acquiring an additional 333,746 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.82% of the company’s stock.

Myers Industries Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.12 million, a P/E ratio of 31.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.36.

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.