Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from National Bank Financial

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised Methanex’s price target from $70 to $79 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 21.45% potential upside from the stock’s $65.05 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Methanex has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $69.89, with six Buy ratings versus five Holds.
• Methanex shares rose 2.3% on Friday, while institutional investors own 73.49% of the company; recent quarterly revenue increased 75% year over year, though EPS and revenue came in below analyst estimates.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX had its target price lifted by research analysts at National Bank Financial from $70.00 to $79.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. National Bank Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.45% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Methanex from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Methanex from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Methanex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.89.

Methanex Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of Methanex stock traded up $1.44 on Friday, reaching $65.05. The stock had a trading volume of 236,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,464. Methanex has a 1 year low of $32.00 and a 1 year high of $66.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.16 and a beta of 0.71.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.13). Methanex had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Methanex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,683,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,605,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Methanex during the second quarter worth $35,078,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,154,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Methanex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company's stock.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation NASDAQ: MEOH is a global producer and supplier of methanol, a basic chemical used in the manufacture of formaldehyde, acetic acid, plastics, paints, adhesives, solvents and other products. Methanol is also used in fuel applications, including as a blending component and as a feedstock for the production of other fuels and chemicals.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Methanex operates an international production and distribution network.

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