Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $33.57, but opened at $34.82. Methanex shares last traded at $34.16, with a volume of 61,738 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MEOH shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Methanex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. CIBC cut their target price on Methanex from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Methanex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Methanex from $57.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Methanex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.25.

Methanex Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.44. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.93.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $857.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 4.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Methanex Co. will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEOH. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Methanex during the first quarter worth $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Methanex in the first quarter valued at $55,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Methanex in the first quarter valued at $82,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Methanex by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities.