Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.36.

Methanex Stock Down 1.0%

Methanex stock opened at $55.89 on Wednesday. Methanex has a 1-year low of $25.46 and a 1-year high of $59.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.46 and a beta of 0.65.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its 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). Methanex had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 2.21%.The business had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Methanex by 629.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after buying an additional 1,998,763 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 249.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,022,987 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Methanex in the second quarter valued at about $30,306,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Methanex by 686.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,277,000 after purchasing an additional 840,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Methanex by 66.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 814,877 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).