Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock Price

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) had its price target upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $45.00 to $53.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MEOH. Scotiabank set a $50.00 price objective on Methanex and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Methanex from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. CIBC increased their price target on Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Methanex from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Methanex in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Methanex Trading Up 0.1%

MEOH stock opened at $39.13 on Wednesday. Methanex has a 1-year low of $25.46 and a 1-year high of $54.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.59 and its 200-day moving average is $33.99. 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 (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.55. Methanex had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.02%.The company had revenue of $808.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Methanex by 206.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 27,803 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Methanex by 192.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 4,541 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Methanex by 781.2% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 20,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 18,226 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP raised its position in shares of Methanex by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 17,002 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 6,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Resource Partners LP raised its position in shares of Methanex by 206.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Resource Partners LP now owns 28,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 19,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Company Profile

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.