Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MEOH. National Bankshares set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. National Bank Financial initiated coverage on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Methanex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Methanex Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $46.84 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.91. Methanex has a 1 year low of $25.46 and a 1 year high of $54.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.08%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 225,333.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 33,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 33,800 shares during the last quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Methanex by 75.4% during the 2nd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,352,000 after purchasing an additional 341,336 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Methanex by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 27,510 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 7,510 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 814,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter valued at about $3,982,000. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

About Methanex

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).