Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Down 4.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 4.8% to $50.49 on Tuesday (intraday low $50.34), with ~399,963 shares traded — about a 43% drop from the stock's average daily volume.
• Methanex missed quarterly expectations, reporting (‑$0.14) EPS vs. $0.81 expected and revenue of $968.8M vs. $1.03B expected, with a 5.35% ROE and 2.21% net margin.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $48.70 after several recent rating changes and target revisions.

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX dropped 4.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $50.34 and last traded at $50.49. Approximately 399,963 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 698,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MEOH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Methanex from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Methanex from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

Methanex Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 44.04 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm's 50 day moving average is $47.71 and its 200-day moving average is $41.02.

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). The business had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 2.21%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $108,917,000 after purchasing an additional 336,316 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Methanex by 629.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,763 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,048,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $81,363,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Methanex by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $71,520,000 after purchasing an additional 518,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,209,000 after buying an additional 451,728 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Methanex Company Profile

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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