Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Trading 3.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) rose 3.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $63.84 and last traded at $63.87. Approximately 347,928 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,145,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MEOH. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

Methanex Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.27 and a beta of 0.56. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.06.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $968.81 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Methanex by 1,244.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Methanex in the second quarter worth $50,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Methanex by 115.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares during 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).