Methanex’s (MEOH) “Sector Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $55.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

MEOH has been the topic of several other reports. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.63.

Methanex Stock Performance

MEOH opened at $34.34 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.38. Methanex has a 52-week low of $33.97 and a 52-week high of $56.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Methanex’s payout ratio is presently 32.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Methanex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Methanex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Methanex during the 4th quarter worth $129,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Methanex by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.