Boston Partners Purchases 262,087 Shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 36.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 989,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 262,087 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 1.47% of Methanex worth $49,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MEOH. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new stake in Methanex in the third quarter worth $471,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Methanex by 4.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,483,000 after buying an additional 8,850 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 19.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 4.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 11,470 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Methanex by 25.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 3,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

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Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of MEOH stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.48. 420,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 336,805. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.36. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Methanex Co. has a 12-month low of $35.67 and a 12-month high of $56.43.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.30. Methanex had a net margin of 4.41% and a return on equity of 10.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Methanex's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MEOH. Barclays increased their target price on Methanex from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank cut Methanex from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Methanex in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.63.

Methanex 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.