Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.88.

MEOH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Methanex from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Methanex in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on Methanex from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Methanex Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $34.43 on Friday. Methanex has a 1 year low of $25.46 and a 1 year high of $54.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $857.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Methanex had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MEOH. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Methanex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 4,776.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 900,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after purchasing an additional 881,823 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Methanex in the fourth quarter worth $1,170,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Methanex by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,840 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 4,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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.