Brokerages Set Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) PT at $68.78

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.00.

Several research firms recently commented on MEOH. UBS Group boosted their price target on Methanex from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th.

Methanex Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $56.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of -115.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Methanex has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month 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). The company had revenue of $957.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. Methanex had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Research analysts predict that Methanex will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex’s payout ratio is presently -151.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $108,917,000 after purchasing an additional 336,316 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Methanex by 629.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,763 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,048,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $81,363,000 after buying an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its position in Methanex by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,520,000 after acquiring an additional 518,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Methanex by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,313,615 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $52,104,000 after buying an additional 123,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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).