Swiss National Bank Purchases 800 Shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Methanex were worth $6,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 4.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,483,000 after purchasing an additional 8,850 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Methanex by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 11,470 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Methanex by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Methanex during the 3rd quarter worth $499,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MEOH. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Methanex in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cibc World Mkts raised Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.63.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of MEOH stock opened at $37.44 on Friday. Methanex Co. has a 52 week low of $35.67 and a 52 week high of $56.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.55 and a 200 day moving average of $44.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.38.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.03%.

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.