Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $59.46, but opened at $61.91. Methanex shares last traded at $63.19, with a volume of 704,121 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MEOH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.36.

Methanex Stock Up 7.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 56.61 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.64.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) EPS 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 company had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Methanex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $419,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Methanex by 87.1% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 689,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,417,000 after purchasing an additional 320,964 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Methanex by 546.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 269,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,710,000 after purchasing an additional 227,723 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Methanex by 66.4% during the second quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,041,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,577,000 after purchasing an additional 814,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in Methanex by 29.5% during the third quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 992,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,442,000 after purchasing an additional 226,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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).