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

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 3,385 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,497% compared to the average daily volume of 212 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Methanex from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Methanex from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Methanex from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Methanex from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Methanex presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEOH. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Methanex by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 20,815 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Methanex by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 29,935 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Methanex by 546.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 269,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,710,000 after buying an additional 227,723 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Methanex by 33.3% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.88. The company had a trading volume of 204,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,649. Methanex has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $54.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.73.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.45). Methanex had a net margin of 5.97% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $924.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $977.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Methanex’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.08%.

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).