Is Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) undervalued? The best stock pickers are getting less optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund positions shrunk by 1 lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of metrics investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a number of stimuli for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the key action surrounding Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE).
How are hedge funds trading Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)?
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -14% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
Of the funds we track, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors had the biggest position in Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE), worth close to $54.7 million, comprising 0.4% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $1.4 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.
Seeing as Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) has faced falling interest from the smart money, we can see that there were a few funds that slashed their positions entirely in Q4. Intriguingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the biggest stake of all the hedgies we monitor, valued at about $1.3 million in stock. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in Q4.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over 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 belong to the rubber & plastics industry and their market caps resemble MYE’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Titan International Inc (NYSE:TWI) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Tredegar Corporation (NYSE:TG) | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) | 10 | 2 | 9 |
| Spartech Corporation (NYSE:SEH) | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI) | 8 | 0 | 6 |
With the results exhibited by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) is no exception.
