Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Stock Position in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its stake in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 86.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 931 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,727 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Methanex were worth $46,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,483,000 after acquiring an additional 8,850 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Methanex by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Methanex by 25.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the third quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 26.2% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 7,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Methanex in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.63.

Methanex Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $34.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Methanex Co. has a 1-year low of $33.97 and a 1-year high of $56.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.63 and a 200 day moving average of $44.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.03%.

About Methanex

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.