Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Receives $63.90 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.90.

MEOH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Methanex by 14.0% in the 4th 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Methanex by 629.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,763 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Methanex by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,048,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $81,363,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in Methanex by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,520,000 after purchasing an additional 518,173 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Methanex by 249.8% in the 3rd 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. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Stock Down 1.9%

MEOH opened at $60.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.02. Methanex has a 52 week low of $31.57 and a 52 week high of $66.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of -122.84 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.08). Methanex had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The company had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Methanex will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is -151.02%.

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).