Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Lowered to Sector Perform Rating by Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has $65.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $55.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MEOH. Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Methanex Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of MEOH opened at $59.86 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Methanex has a one year low of $25.46 and a one year high of $66.75. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.97 and a beta of 0.56.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 1,244.4% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Methanex in the second quarter worth $50,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 336.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Methanex by 131.5% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Methanex by 115.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).