Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MEOH shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.90.

Methanex Trading Up 5.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.33 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.19 and its 200-day moving average is $41.21.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 2.21%.The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Methanex by 33.3% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in Methanex by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 19,842 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Methanex by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Methanex by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Methanex by 3.9% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).