Barclays PLC Sells 4,150 Shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Barclays PLC reduced its position in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,297 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,150 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Methanex were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,463 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Methanex by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in Methanex by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 11,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Methanex by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Methanex by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MEOH shares. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Methanex from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Methanex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Methanex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Methanex from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised Methanex from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.88.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $32.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.40 and a 200-day moving average of $41.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.62. Methanex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. The firm had revenue of $857.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Methanex’s payout ratio is 24.83%.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities.