Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock Rating Lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was downgraded by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $65.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $55.00. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.59% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

Methanex Price Performance

MEOH opened at $59.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.97 and a beta of 0.56. Methanex has a 1 year low of $25.46 and a 1 year high of $66.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.55.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.95). The firm had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 2.21%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Methanex by 546.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 269,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,710,000 after buying an additional 227,723 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Methanex during the 3rd quarter worth $419,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Methanex by 87.1% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 689,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,417,000 after acquiring an additional 320,964 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,022,987 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Methanex by 29.5% in the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 992,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,442,000 after purchasing an additional 226,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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).