SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $166,000 in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Methanex during the third quarter worth $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Methanex by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Methanex by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Stock Up 0.8 %

MEOH stock opened at $41.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.10 and a 200-day moving average of $44.96. Methanex Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.13 and a fifty-two week high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MEOH. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Methanex from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.25.

About Methanex

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.