Shell Asset Management Co. Decreases Holdings in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Shell Asset Management Co. lowered its position in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH – Get Rating) (TSE:MX) by 18.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Methanex were worth $167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Methanex by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,631,060 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,072,000 after buying an additional 616,146 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Methanex by 810.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 354,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,540,000 after buying an additional 315,350 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Methanex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,233,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Methanex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,181,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Methanex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.38% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $50.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.99. Methanex Co. has a 52 week low of $28.73 and a 52 week high of $56.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.90 and its 200-day moving average is $39.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 1.66.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH – Get Rating) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.27. Methanex had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 14.30%. The firm had revenue of $986.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Methanex Co. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MEOH shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Methanex from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Methanex from $56.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 19th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.42.

About Methanex

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Methanex Corp. engages in the production and supply of methanol. The firm supplies in the international market such as North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and South America. It also operates the methanol ocean tanker fleet. The company was founded on March 11, 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.