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

Shares of Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) gapped up prior to trading 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

MEOH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Methanex from $62.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut Methanex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Methanex from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 price objective on Methanex and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, CIBC reduced 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Methanex currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.25.

Methanex Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.83%.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

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

Methanex Company Profile

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.