Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Rating Lowered to Neutral at CIBC World Markets

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was downgraded by investment analysts at CIBC World Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Saturday,BayStreet.CA reports. They presently have a $52.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $46.00. CIBC World Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 10.10% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MEOH. Cibc Captl Mkts lowered Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial cut Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Methanex from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.25.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of MEOH opened at $47.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.68. Methanex has a 1-year low of $25.46 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 37.6% during the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 27,510 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 7,510 shares during the period. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Methanex by 75.4% in the 2nd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,352,000 after buying an additional 341,336 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,982,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Methanex by 397.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 374,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,394,000 after buying an additional 298,917 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).