Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Price Target Raised to $59.00

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) had its target price upped by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from $52.00 to $59.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MEOH. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.36.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH opened at $56.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.96 and a beta of 0.65. Methanex has a 12 month low of $25.46 and a 12 month high of $59.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.47 and a 200-day moving average of $41.91.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.95). Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The business had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MEOH. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 254,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after buying an additional 19,588 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,111,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,129,000 after acquiring an additional 119,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 629.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $92,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,998,763 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Methanex by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 55,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Resource Partners LP boosted its holdings in Methanex by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Orion Resource Partners LP now owns 126,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,011,000 after acquiring an additional 77,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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).