Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Short Interest Update

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 627,100 shares, a drop of 14.7% from the March 15th total of 735,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 487,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MEOH. CIBC dropped their price objective on Methanex from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Methanex from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Methanex from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

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

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of MEOH traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.82. 84,824 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,006. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Methanex has a 52-week low of $25.46 and a 52-week high of $56.43. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.43.

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

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Methanex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.03%.

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.