Brokerages Set Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) PT at $61.88

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.25.

MEOH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Methanex in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Methanex from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 4,776.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 900,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,960,000 after purchasing an additional 881,823 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Methanex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,301,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Methanex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,119,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Methanex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,327,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 989,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,393,000 after acquiring an additional 262,087 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Methanex Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ MEOH opened at $46.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 1.36. Methanex has a 52 week low of $36.13 and a 52 week high of $56.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.02 and a 200-day moving average of $44.99.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is 32.03%.

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.