Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MEOH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Methanex from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Methanex Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.28. 231,437 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 582,255. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.73. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $54.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.45). Methanex had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 5.97%.The business had revenue of $924.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.08%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi lifted its stake in Methanex by 3.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter valued at $33,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 79.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 368,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,177,000 after buying an additional 162,755 shares during the period. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 6.1% during the second quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. 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).