KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 27,700 Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 27,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.07% of Myers Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Myers Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Myers Industries by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Myers Industries by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 3,793 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Myers Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Myers Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 90.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Myers Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Myers Industries Price Performance

MYE stock opened at $10.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.93 and a 200 day moving average of $12.03. 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 company has a market cap of $385.79 million, a P/E ratio of 24.63 and a beta of 1.08. Myers Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.32 and a 1 year high of $23.05.

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.09. Myers Industries had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $203.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Myers Industries, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Myers Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Myers Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 284.21%.

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

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.