Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.50.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Methanex by 1,244.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Methanex by 336.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Methanex by 131.5% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Methanex by 115.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Stock Down 3.6%

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $61.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 54.43 and a beta of 0.56. Methanex has a twelve month low of $25.46 and a twelve month 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $53.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.06.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released 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 company had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 2.21%.The firm’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. Analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

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).