683,663 Shares in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 683,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $34,119,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.01% of Methanex as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MEOH. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 4.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,850 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Methanex by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 2,863 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Methanex by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Methanex in the 3rd quarter valued at $499,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP increased its stake in Methanex by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 7,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Methanex from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Methanex from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank lowered shares of Methanex from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Methanex from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of Methanex stock traded down $2.72 on Thursday, reaching $27.57. 146,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,597. The firm's 50 day moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day moving average is $43.55. Methanex Co. has a one year low of $25.46 and a one year high of $56.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.06.

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, topping 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.03%.

About Methanex

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.