Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Stock Position in Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its holdings in Methanex Corporation by 25.6%, now owning approximately 1.33% of the company, following the sale of 309,551 shares.
• Several large investors have acquired new positions in Methanex, contributing to a total of 73.49% institutional ownership in the company.
• Methanex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.9%, with payments set for September 30th.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 25.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 898,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 309,551 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.33% of Methanex worth $31,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Methanex by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,131,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $74,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,611 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Methanex by 41.8% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 376,365 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Methanex by 13.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,224,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,931,000 after purchasing an additional 147,195 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Methanex by 1,499.0% during the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 817,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,671,000 after purchasing an additional 766,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Methanex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 547,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,091 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Methanex in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Methanex from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Methanex from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank set a $50.00 price target on Methanex and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.88.

Methanex Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Methanex stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.48. 355,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 543,891. Methanex Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $54.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.42 and a 200-day moving average of $34.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.55. Methanex had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.02%.The company had revenue of $808.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Methanex's payout ratio is presently 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.