Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $59.04, but opened at $62.17. Methanex shares last traded at $60.7280, with a volume of 211,442 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Methanex Trading Up 0.3%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.70 and a 200 day moving average of $43.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.15 and a beta of 0.56. 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) (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 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,917,000 after buying an additional 336,316 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $92,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998,763 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Methanex by 40.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 249.8% during 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 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).