Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases 226,000 Shares of Methanex Corporation $MEOH

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 992,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 226,000 shares during the quarter. Methanex comprises about 0.4% of Alberta Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 1.28% of Methanex worth $39,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEOH. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 37.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 27,510 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 7,510 shares during the period. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 75.4% during the second quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,352,000 after buying an additional 341,336 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,982,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Methanex by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,041,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,577,000 after acquiring an additional 814,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Methanex by 397.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 374,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after acquiring an additional 298,917 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Stock Up 2.4%

MEOH stock opened at $48.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.68. Methanex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.79 and a 200-day moving average of $39.39.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s payout ratio is currently 25.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial cut Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

About Methanex

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).