Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Methanex by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Methanex by 3.0% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 19,842 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Methanex by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 21.9% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 5,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Methanex Stock Performance

MEOH opened at $47.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.17 and a 200 day moving average of $37.84. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $54.49.

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

Methanex Announces Dividend

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

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).