Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock Rating Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

MEOH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Methanex from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.56.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $58.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.33. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $32.00 and a fifty-two week high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.13). Methanex had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Methanex will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.1850 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Methanex by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,381 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,892,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Methanex by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 21,774 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) is a global producer and supplier of methanol, a basic chemical used in the manufacture of formaldehyde, acetic acid, plastics, paints, adhesives, solvents and other products. Methanol is also used in fuel applications, including as a blending component and as a feedstock for the production of other fuels and chemicals.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Methanex operates an international production and distribution network.