Reviewing Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) and Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Myers Industries (NYSE:MYE) and Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Myers Industries has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sonoco Products has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Myers Industries and Sonoco Products, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Myers Industries	0	1	2	0	2.67
Sonoco Products	0	8	4	0	2.33

Myers Industries currently has a consensus price target of $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.25%. Sonoco Products has a consensus price target of $58.89, suggesting a potential upside of 17.03%. Given Sonoco Products’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Sonoco Products is more favorable than Myers Industries.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Myers Industries and Sonoco Products”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Myers Industries	$825.74 million	1.49	$34.93 million	$0.97	33.68
Sonoco Products	$7.52 billion	0.66	$1.00 billion	$6.29	8.00

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.8% of Myers Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Sonoco Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Myers Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Sonoco Products shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Myers Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Sonoco Products pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Myers Industries pays out 55.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sonoco Products pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sonoco Products has raised its dividend for 43 consecutive years. Sonoco Products is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Myers Industries and Sonoco Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Myers Industries	4.86%	19.86%	6.88%
Sonoco Products	-3.08%	15.51%	5.05%

Summary

Myers Industries beats Sonoco Products on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging segments. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid paper, steel, and plastic containers; metal and peelable membrane ends, closures, and components; thermoformed plastic trays and enclosures; and high-barrier flexible packaging products. The Industrial Paper Packaging segment provides paperboard tubes, cones, and cores; paper-based protective packaging products; and uncoated recycled paperboard products. It also offers various packaging materials, including plastic, paper, foam, and other specialty materials. Sonoco Products Company sells its products in various markets, which include paper, textile, film, food, packaging, construction, and wire and cable. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina.