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

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.25.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MEOH shares. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Methanex from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, CIBC reiterated an “outperformer” rating and issued a $59.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Methanex in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 16.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,136,436 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,406,000 after purchasing an additional 159,542 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 1,495.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 138,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,739,000 after buying an additional 130,127 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Methanex by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,182,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,022,000 after buying an additional 106,848 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 13.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 508,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,551,000 after buying an additional 58,719 shares during the period. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Methanex by 27.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 202,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,387,000 after acquiring an additional 44,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MEOH opened at $48.05 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.78. Methanex has a 1 year low of $36.13 and a 1 year high of $56.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45 and a beta of 1.37.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.58%.

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.