Royal Bank of Canada Sells 362,099 Shares of Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its Methanex stake by 25.8%, selling 362,099 shares and retaining 1.04 million shares valued at approximately $62.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.49% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with six Buy ratings and five Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $68.56.
• Methanex reported quarterly revenue of $1.40 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.87 per share, both slightly below expectations, while revenue rose 75% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, or $0.74 annually.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 25.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,042,811 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 362,099 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.35% of Methanex worth $62,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi boosted its holdings in Methanex by 3.9% in the first 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. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at $419,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Methanex by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 249,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,250,000 after buying an additional 33,827 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 327.0% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 47,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,565,000 after buying an additional 36,211 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 target price on Methanex and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Methanex from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.56.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $55.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 0.60. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. Methanex had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Methanex Corporation will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

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

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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