Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) traded down 4.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $50.34 and last traded at $50.49. 399,963 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 698,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MEOH shares. Zacks Research upgraded Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Methanex from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Methanex from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Methanex presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

Methanex Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 44.04 and a beta of 0.65.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.95). Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The firm had revenue of $968.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Methanex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Methanex by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,746,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,917,000 after buying an additional 336,316 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Methanex by 629.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,316,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $92,000,000 after buying an additional 1,998,763 shares during the period. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Methanex by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,048,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $81,363,000 after acquiring an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Methanex by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,803,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,520,000 after acquiring an additional 518,173 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Methanex by 35.4% during the second 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 period. 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).