Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares reached a new 52-week high of $59.88, and several brokers (BMO, RBC, UBS, CIBC) have raised targets or given Buy/Outperform ratings, though MarketBeat's consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $52.36.
• Methanex missed earnings on its most recent report—EPS ($0.14) vs. $0.81 expected—and posted revenue of $968.8M (vs. $1.03B estimated), with a net margin of 2.21% and ROE of 5.35%.
• The company has a $4.63B market cap and a high valuation (P/E 53.0), pays a quarterly dividend of $0.185 (annualized yield ~1.2%), and is roughly 73.5% owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.88 and last traded at $59.3390, with a volume of 302856 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MEOH. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their target price on Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.36.

Methanex Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.41. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.03 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.95). Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The business had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Methanex's payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Methanex by 33.3% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 19,842 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Methanex by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada–based company and one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of methanol. The company manufactures methanol, a key feedstock for a wide range of chemical products and industrial applications. Methanex markets its product to customers in energy, plastics, paints and coatings, and various chemical sectors, positioning the company as a critical link in the global supply chain for basic chemicals.

The company's core product, methanol, serves as a building block for downstream chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

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