Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MEOH has been the topic of several other research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.90.

Methanex Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ MEOH opened at $62.56 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.00. Methanex has a 12 month low of $31.57 and a 12 month high of $66.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of -127.67 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Methanex will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 14.0% in 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Methanex by 629.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Methanex by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $71,520,000 after acquiring an additional 518,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position 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 valued at $56,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,987 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).