Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 455,975 Shares of Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Key Points

• Bank of America more than tripled its Methanex position in the first quarter, purchasing 455,975 additional shares to hold 681,407 shares valued at approximately $40.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.49% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed, with Methanex carrying a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.56 versus its reported market price of $54.21.
• Methanex reported quarterly revenue of $1.40 billion, up 75% year over year, but earnings of $3.87 per share fell short of the $4.00 consensus estimate. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, representing a 1.4% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 202.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 681,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 455,975 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.88% of Methanex worth $40,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MEOH. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 0.3% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,381 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,892,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in Methanex by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MEOH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Methanex from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Methanex from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.56.

Methanex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $54.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.63 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Methanex Corporation has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.13). Methanex had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.07%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Methanex's revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Methanex Corporation will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Methanex's payout ratio is 71.84%.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada–based company and one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of methanol. The company manufactures methanol, a key feedstock for a wide range of chemical products and industrial applications. Methanex markets its product to customers in energy, plastics, paints and coatings, and various chemical sectors, positioning the company as a critical link in the global supply chain for basic chemicals.

The company's core product, methanol, serves as a building block for downstream chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

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