Swiss National Bank Has $6.66 Million Holdings in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 133,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Methanex worth $6,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Methanex by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at about $166,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MEOH. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Methanex from $53.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank cut Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, 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. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.63.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH opened at $37.44 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.36. Methanex Co. has a twelve month low of $35.67 and a twelve month high of $56.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.38.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.