Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Trading Up 3.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Methanex shares rose about 3.7% to $63.87 on Tuesday on light volume (~347,928 shares), even as the stock trades above its average analyst target of $54.50 and after mixed analyst actions (one Strong Buy, six Buy, four Hold, one Sell).
• The company posted a meaningful quarterly earnings miss, reporting EPS of ($0.14) vs. $0.81 expected and revenue of $968.8M vs. $1.03B, with slim profitability (net margin 2.21%, ROE 5.35%).
• Methanex pays a quarterly dividend of $0.185 (≈1.2% yield) and has heavy institutional ownership (73.49%), with large recent stake increases from Vanguard, Wellington, FIL and others.

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX was up 3.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $63.84 and last traded at $63.87. Approximately 347,928 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,145,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MEOH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Methanex from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.50.

Methanex Stock Up 3.8%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.76. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 56.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06.

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

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Methanex by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $108,917,000 after purchasing an additional 336,316 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Methanex by 629.5% in 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. increased its stake in Methanex by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,048,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $81,363,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in Methanex by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $71,520,000 after purchasing an additional 518,173 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Methanex by 249.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,432,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $56,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,987 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

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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