Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 44,780.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 20,151 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Methanex were worth $802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Methanex by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Methanex by 3.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 20,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 3.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Stock Up 1.2%

MEOH opened at $58.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.96 and a beta of 0.56. Methanex Corporation has a twelve month low of $32.00 and a twelve month high of $66.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.89.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $957.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. Methanex had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Methanex Corporation will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently -151.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MEOH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.78.

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).