Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

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

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on MEOH. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.90.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of MEOH opened at $62.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.67 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.58 and a 200 day moving average of $48.00. Methanex has a 12 month low of $31.57 and a 12 month high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). Methanex had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The business had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Methanex will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Methanex by 629.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,763 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Methanex by 249.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,432,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,987 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Methanex during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,872,000. Boston Partners raised its position in Methanex by 686.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,277,000 after purchasing an additional 840,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Methanex by 116.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,157,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,011,000 after purchasing an additional 623,502 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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).