Brokerages Set Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Target Price at $47.00

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Methanex from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $50.00 target price on Methanex and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 1,244.4% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Methanex by 131.5% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new position in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Price Performance

NASDAQ MEOH opened at $47.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Methanex has a 12 month low of $25.46 and a 12 month high of $54.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.67.

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

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio 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).