Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was upgraded by research analysts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $71.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.83% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on MEOH. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Methanex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Methanex Price Performance

Methanex stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $55.98. 87,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,119,961. Methanex has a one year low of $32.00 and a one year high of $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.77 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.66.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $964.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Methanex will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Methanex by 629.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,998,763 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at $34,872,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Methanex by 686.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 963,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,277,000 after buying an additional 840,831 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 116.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,157,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,011,000 after acquiring an additional 623,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,520,000 after buying an additional 518,173 shares during the period. 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).