Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MEOH. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. National Bankshares set a $47.00 price objective on Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Methanex from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Methanex has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.27.

Methanex Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.79. The stock had a trading volume of 463,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 538,242. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.20. Methanex has a twelve month low of $25.46 and a twelve month high of $54.49.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.45). Methanex had a net margin of 5.97% and a return on equity of 9.30%. The company had revenue of $924.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Methanex by 249.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,432,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,987 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Methanex in the second quarter worth approximately $30,306,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 686.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,277,000 after buying an additional 840,831 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $67,577,000 after acquiring an additional 814,877 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 1,499.0% in the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 817,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,671,000 after acquiring an additional 766,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.