Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) Short Interest Up 22.8% in February

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX saw a significant 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. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 427,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MEOH. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Methanex during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Methanex by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Methanex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Methanex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $129,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Methanex by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MEOH shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Methanex in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Methanex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Methanex currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.63.

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Methanex Stock Performance

NASDAQ MEOH traded down $0.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.44. 194,160 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,449. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 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 has a fifty-two week low of $35.67 and a fifty-two week high of $56.43.

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

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 issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. 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 is presently 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.