Raymond James Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock Price

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) had its price objective boosted by Raymond James Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James Financial currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MEOH. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $46.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Methanex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.20.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of Methanex stock opened at $50.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.68 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.92 and its 200 day moving average is $41.12. Methanex has a one year low of $25.46 and a one year high of $57.93.

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

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is 65.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MEOH. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Methanex by 35.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,209,000 after purchasing an additional 451,728 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Methanex by 318.7% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 409,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,586,000 after purchasing an additional 311,696 shares during the period. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 121,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).