Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 683,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,119,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Methanex in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position 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 worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Methanex by 15.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Methanex during the 4th quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $28.72 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.99. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.06. Methanex Co. has a 12-month low of $27.35 and a 12-month 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.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Methanex’s payout ratio is presently 32.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MEOH has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank cut Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Methanex from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upped their price target on Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.63.

Methanex Company Profile

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.