Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.25.

MEOH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Methanex from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $42.25 on Wednesday. Methanex has a twelve month low of $36.13 and a twelve month high of $56.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.95.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Methanex during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at $106,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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.