Methanex Corporation $MEOH Shares Acquired by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Methanex by 12% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.111 million shares valued at about $44.1 million.
• Methanex reported Q1 earnings of $0.30 per share, below analyst expectations of $0.38, while revenue came in at $957.4 million versus estimates of $964.8 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $66.78.

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,111,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 119,000 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 1.44% of Methanex worth $44,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Methanex by 33.3% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 61.0% during the 4th 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Price Performance

MEOH opened at $53.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -108.53 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.94 and a 200-day moving average of $52.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Methanex Corporation has a 12-month low of $32.00 and a 12-month high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.08). Methanex had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The business had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Methanex Corporation will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Methanex's dividend payout ratio is currently -151.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MEOH. UBS Group increased their price objective on Methanex from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Methanex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.78.

Methanex Company 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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