Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to Sector Perform

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was downgraded by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report released on Thursday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $65.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MEOH. Zacks Research downgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Methanex Stock Down 0.8%

MEOH opened at $59.04 on Thursday. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $66.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.25 and a beta of 0.56.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.95). Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The business had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Methanex’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 worth $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,763 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,306,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Methanex by 686.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,277,000 after buying an additional 840,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Methanex by 116.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,157,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,011,000 after buying an additional 623,502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).