Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Short Interest Update

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of MEOH traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.44. The stock had a trading volume of 194,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,469. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.36. Methanex has a one year low of $35.67 and a one year high of $56.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

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Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex during the 3rd quarter worth about $471,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 4.5% during the 3rd 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% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 11,470 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of Methanex from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Methanex in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Methanex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.63.

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.