Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.5455.

Several brokerages have issued reports on MEOH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. National Bank Financial assumed coverage on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. National Bankshares set a $47.00 target price on Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st.

Methanex Stock Down 0.7%

MEOH opened at $39.91 on Tuesday. Methanex has a 12 month low of $25.46 and a 12 month high of $54.49. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.10 and a 200 day moving average of $36.23.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $924.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $977.82 million. Methanex had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 5.97%.The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Methanex’s payout ratio is presently 25.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,041,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,577,000 after purchasing an additional 814,877 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Methanex by 35.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,209,000 after purchasing an additional 451,728 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Methanex by 28.1% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,568,264 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,960,000 after buying an additional 343,876 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 249.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,432,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,939,000 after buying an additional 1,022,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 116.8% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,157,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,011,000 after buying an additional 623,502 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada–based company and one of the world’s largest producers and suppliers of methanol. The company manufactures methanol, a key feedstock for a wide range of chemical products and industrial applications. Methanex markets its product to customers in energy, plastics, paints and coatings, and various chemical sectors, positioning the company as a critical link in the global supply chain for basic chemicals.

The company’s core product, methanol, serves as a building block for downstream chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).