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

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 3,122 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 299% compared to the typical daily volume of 782 call options.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Methanex by 1,244.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Methanex by 131.5% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new position in Methanex in the 2nd quarter worth $166,000. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Methanex Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of MEOH traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.35. The stock had a trading volume of 302,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,145,620. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Methanex has a 52 week low of $25.46 and a 52 week high of $66.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.16 and a 200 day moving average of $43.61. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.31 and a beta of 0.56.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted 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 return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 2.21%.The business had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Methanex will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MEOH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Thursday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their target price on Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

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).