Short Interest in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Drops By 14.7%

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 627,100 shares, a decline of 14.7% from the March 15th total of 735,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 487,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MEOH. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $66.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on Methanex from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Methanex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the 1st quarter worth $1,012,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Methanex by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 188,773 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,427,000 after acquiring an additional 84,462 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Methanex by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 6,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Methanex by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,077,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,770,000 after purchasing an additional 226,349 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Methanex by 98.4% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 52,370 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 25,973 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of Methanex stock opened at $27.50 on Tuesday. Methanex has a 52 week low of $25.46 and a 52 week high of $56.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. As a group, analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Methanex’s payout ratio is 32.03%.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities.