Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Sector Perform” Rating for Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $55.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MEOH. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Methanex from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Methanex from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.63.

Methanex Stock Down 5.2 %

MEOH traded down $2.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.78. 407,439 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 274,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.39. Methanex has a 12-month low of $38.31 and a 12-month high of $56.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.68.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $920.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $954.26 million. Methanex had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 5.44%. Methanex’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Methanex will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Methanex’s payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Methanex during the first quarter valued at about $779,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in Methanex during the first quarter worth about $589,459,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 908,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,004,000 after acquiring an additional 15,190 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Methanex by 346.5% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Methanex by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 127,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,681,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.