Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a report on Friday, May 1st. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Methanex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Methanex Stock Up 2.4%

Methanex stock opened at $56.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -115.20 and a beta of 0.60. Methanex has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $66.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.99.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.08). Methanex had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The business had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Methanex during the 4th quarter worth about $34,872,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Methanex by 686.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,277,000 after purchasing an additional 840,831 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 116.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,157,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,011,000 after buying an additional 623,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $71,520,000 after buying an additional 518,173 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).