BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) had its price target increased by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MEOH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.36.

Methanex Trading Up 6.8%

Shares of Methanex stock opened at $56.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.96 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.91. Methanex has a 12-month low of $25.46 and a 12-month high of $59.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.95). The company had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. Methanex’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Methanex by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 254,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,112,000 after acquiring an additional 19,588 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in Methanex by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,111,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,129,000 after acquiring an additional 119,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Methanex by 629.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,998,763 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Methanex by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 55,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Resource Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Resource Partners LP now owns 126,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,011,000 after purchasing an additional 77,291 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

About Methanex

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).