Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $14.33 Million in Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 286,893 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,327,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.43% of Methanex at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEOH. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Methanex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,463 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its holdings in Methanex by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 11,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Methanex by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Methanex by 39.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Price Performance

Shares of Methanex stock opened at $27.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.06. Methanex Co. has a 12 month low of $25.46 and a 12 month high of $56.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.71. 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 (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. CIBC reduced 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 dropped their target price on shares of Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank cut shares of Methanex from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Methanex from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.13.

Methanex 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.