Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $60.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Methanex traded as high as $57.98 and last traded at $57.8980, with a volume of 736615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.48.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Methanex by 33.3% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in Methanex by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 19,842 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Methanex by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Methanex by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 51.31 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.95). Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The company had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Methanex’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

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

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).