Alberta Investment Management Corp Boosts Stake in Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,111,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 119,000 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Methanex were worth $44,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MEOH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Methanex by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,917,000 after purchasing an additional 336,316 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Methanex by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,048,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $81,363,000 after buying an additional 7,707 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in 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 valued at $56,939,000 after buying an additional 1,022,987 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Methanex by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,313,615 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,104,000 after buying an additional 123,078 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Methanex by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,196,227 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,618,000 after buying an additional 232,819 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of MEOH stock opened at $56.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.71. Methanex Corporation has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month high of $66.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of -114.80 and a beta of 0.56.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. Methanex had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.Methanex’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Methanex Corporation will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.185 dividend. 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 payout ratio is -151.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).