Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

MEOH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Methanex from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research raised Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Amundi lifted its stake in Methanex by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Methanex by 6.1% during the second quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Methanex during the second quarter worth approximately $387,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Methanex by 17.7% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 29,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Stock Performance

MEOH opened at $49.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.68. Methanex has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $51.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.66.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.08%.

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).