Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MEOH. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Methanex from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Methanex from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Methanex from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $56.63.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH traded down $2.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 650,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,231. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Methanex has a 52 week low of $38.31 and a 52 week high of $56.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.10. Methanex had a return on equity of 5.44% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $920.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Methanex’s payout ratio is presently 31.36%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Methanex by 346.5% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Methanex in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Methanex by 52,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new position in Methanex in the 1st quarter valued at $178,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new position in Methanex in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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.