Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $70.00. The stock had previously closed at $51.20, but opened at $53.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Methanex shares last traded at $53.3820, with a volume of 555,036 shares traded.

MEOH has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research raised Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Methanex during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 1,244.4% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Methanex by 336.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Methanex by 131.5% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new position in Methanex in the 2nd quarter valued at $166,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Methanex Trading Up 3.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.24 and a 200 day moving average of $41.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.79 and a beta of 0.65.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.95). The business had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $1.24 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

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).