The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 98,803 Shares of Methanex Corporation $MEOH

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 33.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 98,803 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.26% of Methanex worth $11,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Methanex during the fourth quarter valued at $375,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Methanex by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 677,610 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,875,000 after purchasing an additional 99,210 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Methanex by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 932,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,020,000 after purchasing an additional 242,662 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Methanex during the 4th quarter worth about $34,872,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Methanex by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $108,917,000 after purchasing an additional 336,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MEOH shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Methanex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Methanex from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.56.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of MEOH stock opened at $55.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.07 and a 200-day moving average of $54.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Methanex Corporation has a one year low of $32.00 and a one year high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Methanex had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Methanex Corporation will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.84%.

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).