Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $57.05, but opened at $53.02. Methanex shares last traded at $53.18, with a volume of 701,677 shares traded.

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 5.97% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.08%.

Methanex News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Methanex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $60 and maintains a Buy rating, signaling analyst confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: UBS/other coverage published bullish forecasts calling for strong price appreciation for MEOH, which could support a recovery if methanol pricing and margins rebound. UBS Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Methanex reported higher production (2.364 million tonnes in Q4) and generated strong 2025 cash flow, providing balance-sheet flexibility and support for capital allocation despite the quarterly loss. GlobeNewswire Q4 Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenues rose slightly year-over-year on higher volumes (helped by stronger Chile output), which is operationally positive but was insufficient to offset lower selling prices this quarter. Zacks: Revenues Up Y/Y
• Negative Sentiment: Methanex reported an adjusted Q4 loss of $0.14 per share versus the consensus $0.81 — a sizable miss — and revenue of $968.8M vs. estimates near $1.03B; weaker methanol prices pressured margins. Press Release / MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: The quarter included a New Zealand impairment that helped swing the company to a loss, a one-time charge that clouds near-term EPS comparisons and contributed to the stock weakness. TipRanks: Impairment
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-market coverage and headlines highlighted the earnings miss and related weakness, driving selling pressure into the session. MSN Pre-market

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Methanex by 3.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,209,000 after acquiring an additional 451,728 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. purchased a new position in Methanex during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,982,000. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 75.4% during the 2nd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 794,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,352,000 after acquiring an additional 341,336 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methanex Stock Down 6.3%

The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.67. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.65.

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).