Brokerages Set Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Price Target at $44.88

Key Points

• Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from nine research firms, with an average price target of $44.88.
• Institutional investors own approximately 73.49% of Methanex's stock, indicating strong backing from hedge funds and other large investors.
• The company recently reported $0.97 earnings per share, exceeding analyst estimates, despite a revenue decline of 13.4% year-over-year.

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.8750.

MEOH has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Methanex from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Methanex from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.34. The company had a trading volume of 304,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,379. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Methanex has a twelve month low of $25.46 and a twelve month high of $54.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.87.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $808.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $835.04 million. Methanex had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 12.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Methanex's payout ratio is currently 21.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Methanex by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,131,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $74,740,000 after buying an additional 14,611 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Methanex by 66.4% in the second quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,041,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $67,577,000 after buying an additional 814,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Methanex by 35.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,209,000 after buying an additional 451,728 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Methanex by 28.1% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,568,264 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,960,000 after buying an additional 343,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Methanex by 11.9% in the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,118,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,009,000 after buying an additional 118,797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company's stock.

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.