Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Position in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,854 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,328 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.24% of Methanex worth $8,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEOH. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,463 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 11,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 6,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Methanex Price Performance

MEOH stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.45. The stock had a trading volume of 629,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,084. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $34.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 1.06. Methanex Co. has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Methanex's payout ratio is currently 32.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MEOH. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. CIBC reduced their target price on Methanex from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperformer" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank lowered Methanex from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Methanex from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.13.

Methanex Company 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.