Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Methanex from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Methanex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.56.

Methanex Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Methanex stock opened at $54.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.07. Methanex has a 52-week low of $32.00 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.96 and a 200-day moving average of $54.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 52.73 and a beta of 0.60.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.13). Methanex had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.07%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Methanex will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Methanex by 336.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Methanex by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Methanex during the second quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 115.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).