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

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.97% from the stock’s current price.

MEOH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Methanex from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperformer” rating and issued a $59.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Methanex in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Methanex from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.75.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $52.39. 260,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,260. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.33 and its 200-day moving average is $44.96. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $36.13 and a fifty-two week high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 4.41%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,182,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,022,000 after acquiring an additional 106,848 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Methanex by 13.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 508,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,551,000 after purchasing an additional 58,719 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Methanex by 4.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,483,000 after purchasing an additional 8,850 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Methanex by 27.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 202,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,387,000 after purchasing an additional 44,173 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 1,495.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 138,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,739,000 after buying an additional 130,127 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.