Methanex Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity: Investors purchased 35,044 put options on Methanex, nearly 98 times the typical volume of 358 contracts.
• Institutional support remains strong: Hedge funds and other institutions own 73.49% of the stock, while recent analyst coverage gives Methanex a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $68.56.
• Shares rose 1.8% to $63.81: Methanex recently reported quarterly earnings and revenue below analyst expectations but announced a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 35,044 put options on the company. This is an increase of 9,689% compared to the typical volume of 358 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 0.4% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 7,707 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth $56,683,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth $53,605,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Methanex by 4.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,127,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $67,116,000 after purchasing an additional 50,681 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Methanex by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,111,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,129,000 after purchasing an additional 119,000 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MEOH. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Methanex from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Methanex from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.56.

Methanex Stock Up 1.8%

MEOH stock traded up $1.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.81. 2,410,508 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,638. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.62. Methanex has a 52-week low of $32.00 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01 and a beta of 0.58.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Methanex had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 11.35%. Methanex's revenue was up 75.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Methanex will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.84%.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation is a global producer and distributor of methanol, a versatile chemical used in the manufacture of formaldehyde, acetic acid, solvents, plastics, and other industrial products. Methanol is also used in fuel blending, marine fuel applications, wastewater treatment, and the production of emerging low-carbon fuels and chemicals.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Methanex operates methanol production facilities in regions including North America, South America, New Zealand, Egypt, and Trinidad.

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