Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on MEOH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on Methanex from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position 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 worth $56,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,987 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Methanex in the second quarter worth approximately $30,306,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Methanex by 686.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,277,000 after purchasing an additional 840,831 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Methanex by 66.4% during 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. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Methanex by 116.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,157,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,011,000 after purchasing an additional 623,502 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Price Performance

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $49.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.73. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.53. Methanex has a 1 year low of $25.46 and a 1 year high of $54.49.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $977.82 million. Methanex had a net margin of 5.97% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.08%.

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).