Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. National Bank Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.56.

Methanex Stock Up 0.6%

MEOH stock opened at $55.55 on Friday. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $32.00 and a fifty-two week high of $66.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.07%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Methanex will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 0.3% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,381 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,892,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Methanex by 4.8% during the first quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Methanex by 33.3% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Methanex by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Methanex by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada–based company and one of the world’s largest producers and suppliers of methanol. The company manufactures methanol, a key feedstock for a wide range of chemical products and industrial applications. Methanex markets its product to customers in energy, plastics, paints and coatings, and various chemical sectors, positioning the company as a critical link in the global supply chain for basic chemicals.

The company’s core product, methanol, serves as a building block for downstream chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).