BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 7,670 Shares of Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Methanex Corporation by 25.4%, owning approximately 37,883 shares worth $1.33 million after purchasing an additional 7,670 shares in the 1st quarter.
• A recent analyst report raised Methanex's rating from "sector perform" to "outperform" with a price target of $50.00, amid a general trend of positive adjustments from various brokerages.
• Methanex also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.185, payable on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 2.1% with a payout ratio of 21.83%.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,883 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,670 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.06% of Methanex worth $1,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEOH. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Methanex by 1,499.0% in the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 817,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,671,000 after acquiring an additional 766,000 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Methanex in the 4th quarter worth about $26,835,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Methanex by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,276,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,798,000 after acquiring an additional 376,365 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Methanex by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,077,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,770,000 after acquiring an additional 226,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in Methanex by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 368,539 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,405,000 after acquiring an additional 207,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MEOH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 price objective on Methanex and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 price objective on Methanex and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Methanex in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank set a $50.00 target price on Methanex and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.88.

Methanex Price Performance

MEOH stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.51. 222,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.87. Methanex Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $54.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.54.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $808.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.04 million. Methanex had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.02%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.83%.

Methanex 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.