Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to “Sector Outperform” Rating

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce currently has $71.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $69.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MEOH. Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 price target on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.00.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $54.70 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.77. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -111.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.96. Methanex has a one year low of $32.00 and a one year high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). Methanex had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The company had revenue of $957.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Methanex will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is presently -151.02%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Methanex by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,381 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,892,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in Methanex by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Methanex by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Methanex by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Methanex by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).