Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 57,979 Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 57,979 Methanex shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $2.68 million and representing a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.49% of the company.
• Methanex reported quarterly EPS of $3.87, below the $4.00 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 75% year over year to $1.40 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $68.56, compared with the stock’s reported price of $58.72.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,979 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.07% of Methanex as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Methanex by 202.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 681,407 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,571,000 after purchasing an additional 455,975 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 932,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $37,020,000 after buying an additional 242,662 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Methanex during the 4th quarter worth $34,872,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Methanex in the second quarter valued at about $26,154,000. Finally, Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. bought a new position in Methanex in the first quarter valued at about $2,131,000. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ MEOH opened at $58.72 on Friday. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $54.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.03. Methanex Corporation has a twelve month low of $32.00 and a twelve month high of $66.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.01 and a beta of 0.58.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 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 firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Methanex's revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Methanex Corporation will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Methanex's payout ratio is 71.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Methanex from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.56.

Methanex Profile

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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