Brokerages Set Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Price Target at $60.63

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.63.

MEOH has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their target price on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Cibc World Mkts raised Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Methanex by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,836,661 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $241,549,000 after purchasing an additional 62,467 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,330,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,384,000 after buying an additional 95,950 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Methanex by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,116,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $105,779,000 after buying an additional 37,658 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,077,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,770,000 after buying an additional 226,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Methanex by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,047,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,334,000 after acquiring an additional 50,075 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Stock Down 2.1 %

MEOH opened at $34.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.38. Methanex has a 12 month low of $33.97 and a 12 month high of $56.43. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.19.

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

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. 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.