Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.5455.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research lowered Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. National Bank Financial assumed coverage on Methanex in a report on Friday, September 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd.

Methanex Stock Performance

Methanex stock opened at $37.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.47. Methanex has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $54.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

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

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 249.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,432,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,987 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Methanex during the second quarter worth about $30,306,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 840,831 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Methanex by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,041,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,577,000 after buying an additional 814,877 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 116.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 623,502 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.