Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.11 and last traded at $35.85, with a volume of 113358 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MEOH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Scotiabank downgraded Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.63.

Methanex Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.12. 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 (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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,836,661 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $241,549,000 after purchasing an additional 62,467 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Methanex by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,330,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,384,000 after buying an additional 95,950 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Methanex by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,116,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $105,779,000 after buying an additional 37,658 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Methanex by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,077,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,770,000 after acquiring an additional 226,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,047,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,334,000 after acquiring an additional 50,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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.