Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 46,200 Shares of Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 38.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,200 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.22% of Methanex worth $9,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MEOH. Beaconlight Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the 1st quarter worth $1,031,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Methanex by 0.3% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,381 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,892,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in Methanex during the first quarter worth about $220,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 4.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,127,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,116,000 after purchasing an additional 50,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Methanex in the first quarter worth about $649,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MEOH shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Methanex from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Methanex from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Methanex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.56.

Methanex Price Performance

NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $55.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 0.58. Methanex Corporation has a 52-week low of $32.00 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.07 and a 200 day moving average of $54.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.13). Methanex had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.07%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Methanex’s quarterly revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Methanex Corporation will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.84%.

Methanex Company Profile

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).