Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Myers Industries, Inc. (MYE)

Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) has seen an increase in hedge fund interest recently.

At the moment, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to monitor publicly traded companies. A pair of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can trounce the market by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of reasons for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a look at the recent action encompassing Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE).

What does the smart money think about Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 50% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

Of the funds we track, GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, holds the most valuable position in Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE). GAMCO Investors has a $51.5 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. On GAMCO Investors’s heels is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $2.2 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, established the biggest position in Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE). Millennium Management had 0.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also initiated a $0.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MYE positions are John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital.

What have insiders been doing with Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE). These stocks are Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI), Tredegar Corporation (NYSE:TG), Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG), Spartech Corporation (NYSE:SEH), and AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI). This group of stocks are the members of the rubber & plastics industry and their market caps match MYE’s market cap.