Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.88.

Several research firms have weighed in on MEOH. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Methanex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Methanex from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Methanex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Methanex from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperformer" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Methanex in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Methanex in the first quarter valued at $55,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Methanex Stock Up 4.6%

Methanex stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,468,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,036. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.32. Methanex has a 12 month low of $25.46 and a 12 month high of $54.49. 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 capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.93.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. The firm had revenue of $857.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Methanex's payout ratio is 24.83%.

About Methanex

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.