Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MEOH has been the topic of several other research reports. Scotiabank set a $50.00 price target on shares of Methanex and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Methanex from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 price target on shares of Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.00.

Methanex Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MEOH opened at $35.16 on Wednesday. Methanex has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $54.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $808.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $835.04 million. Methanex had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 12.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Methanex by 19.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Methanex by 3.0% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 19,842 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Methanex by 3.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Methanex by 25.7% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 4,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Methanex in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.