Man Group plc Grows Holdings in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Man Group plc lifted its position in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 129.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,539 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 207,784 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.55% of Methanex worth $18,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Methanex by 4,776.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 900,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,960,000 after buying an additional 881,823 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Methanex during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,301,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Methanex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,119,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Methanex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,835,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Methanex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,327,000. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.63. 87,128 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 390,411. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $32.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.93. Methanex Co. 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.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $857.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. Methanex's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Methanex's payout ratio is 24.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 price target on shares of Methanex and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Sunday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Methanex from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank raised Methanex from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Methanex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.25.

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.