Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Up 4.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) shares rose 4.3% on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $59.00 to $62.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Methanex traded as high as $50.91 and last traded at $49.75. Approximately 115,088 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 292,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.71.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on MEOH. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Methanex from $67.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Methanex from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 42.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Methanex by 20.0% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 739,849 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,950,000 after purchasing an additional 123,296 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in Methanex in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Methanex by 0.5% in the third quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,674,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Methanex in the third quarter valued at approximately $364,000. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.24. Methanex had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The firm had revenue of $922.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.21 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Methanex Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is 30.08%.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities.