Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Short Interest Update

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 669,100 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the February 13th total of 544,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 427,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Methanex Price Performance

NASDAQ MEOH opened at $37.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.47. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.38. Methanex has a 1 year low of $35.67 and a 1 year high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.03%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Methanex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,463 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Methanex by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 11,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position in Methanex by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 11,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Methanex by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 6,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MEOH has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.63.

Methanex Company Profile

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.