Graham Capital Management L.P. Takes Position in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MEOH. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Methanex by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Methanex in the 4th quarter valued at about $386,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in Methanex in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Finally, Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Methanex by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 117,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,892,000 after buying an additional 7,375 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $33.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Methanex Co. has a 1 year low of $25.46 and a 1 year high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Methanex had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. The firm had revenue of $857.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Methanex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank raised shares of Methanex from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Methanex from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperformer” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

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.