Methanex Corporation $MEOH Stock Holdings Raised by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 102.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,854 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Methanex worth $2,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its stake in Methanex by 3.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Methanex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Methanex by 79.1% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 368,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,177,000 after acquiring an additional 162,755 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Methanex by 6.1% during the second quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Methanex in the second quarter worth $387,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MEOH shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday. CIBC World Markets lowered Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $52.00 in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.25.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $47.23 on Monday. Methanex Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.46 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s payout ratio 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).