Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Methanex from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Methanex from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Methanex has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.88.

Methanex Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Methanex stock opened at $39.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Methanex has a 12-month low of $25.46 and a 12-month high of $54.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.05.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.55. Methanex had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 12.61%. The business had revenue of $808.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Methanex’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.83%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Methanex by 206.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 27,803 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Methanex by 192.7% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Methanex by 781.2% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 20,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 18,226 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP grew its position in shares of Methanex by 56.0% in the second quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 17,002 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Resource Partners LP grew its position in shares of Methanex by 206.5% in the second quarter. Orion Resource Partners LP now owns 28,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 19,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.