Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Short Interest Update

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 817,223 shares, a drop of 35.5% from the April 15th total of 1,266,810 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,357,601 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MEOH shares. Zacks Research upgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.78.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of Methanex stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $62.09. 501,914 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,093. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -126.71 and a beta of 0.60. Methanex has a one year low of $31.57 and a one year high of $66.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.76 million. Methanex had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Methanex will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Methanex’s payout ratio is currently -151.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 1st quarter valued at about $252,000. Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,786,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 80,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after buying an additional 15,224 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 166,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,936,000 after buying an additional 46,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaconlight Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,031,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently 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).