Critical Survey: Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) and Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB)

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) and Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Myers Industries and Proto Labs, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Myers Industries	0	0	1	0	3.00
Proto Labs	0	1	2	0	2.67

Myers Industries presently has a consensus price target of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.13%. Proto Labs has a consensus price target of $52.50, suggesting a potential upside of 21.33%. Given Myers Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Myers Industries is more favorable than Proto Labs.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.8% of Myers Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Proto Labs shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Myers Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Proto Labs shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Myers Industries has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Proto Labs has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Myers Industries and Proto Labs”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Myers Industries	$836.28 million	0.67	$7.20 million	$0.28	53.14
Proto Labs	$500.89 million	2.05	$16.59 million	$0.60	72.12

Proto Labs has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Myers Industries. Myers Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Proto Labs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Myers Industries and Proto Labs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Myers Industries	1.20%	13.02%	4.13%
Proto Labs	2.91%	2.22%	1.99%

About Myers Industries

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. It serves industrial manufacturing, food processing, retail/wholesale products distribution, agriculture, automotive, recreational and marine vehicles, healthcare, appliance, bakery, electronics, textiles, consumer markets, and other markets under Akro-Mils, Jamco, Buckhorn, Ameri-Kart, Scepter, Elkhart Plastics, Trilogy Plastics, and Signature Systems brands directly to end-users, as well as through distributors. The Distribution segment engages in the distribution of tools, equipment, and supplies for tire, wheel, and under-vehicle service on passenger, heavy truck, and off-road vehicles; and manufacture and sale of tire repair materials and custom rubber products, as well as reflective highway marking tapes under the Myers Tire Supply, Myers Tire Supply International, Tuffy Manufacturing, Mohawk Rubber Sales, Patch Rubber Company, Elrick, Fleetline, MTS, Seymoure, Advance Traffic Markings, and MXP brands. This segment serves retail and truck tire dealers, commercial auto and truck fleets, auto dealers, general service and repair centers, tire re-treaders, truck stop operations, and government agencies. Myers Industries, Inc. was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets. Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.