Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) Short Interest Update

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 817,223 shares, a drop of 35.5% from the April 15th total of 1,266,810 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,357,601 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Methanex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.78.

Methanex Trading Down 2.0%

MEOH stock traded down $1.29 on Monday, reaching $62.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 501,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,093. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.40. Methanex has a 12-month low of $31.57 and a 12-month high of $66.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of -126.71 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.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $957.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.76 million. Methanex had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Methanex will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -151.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Methanex during the first quarter valued at $252,000. Clough Capital Partners L P bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the first quarter valued at $1,786,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 23.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 80,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after acquiring an additional 15,224 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 38.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 166,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,936,000 after acquiring an additional 46,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaconlight Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the first quarter valued at $1,031,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

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).