Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $58.36, but opened at $53.65. Methanex shares last traded at $53.3850, with a volume of 138,089 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MEOH. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Methanex from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Methanex from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Methanex Trading Down 6.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 48.14 and a beta of 0.56. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.83.

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

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park National Corp OH acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Methanex by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 254,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after buying an additional 19,588 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in Methanex by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,111,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,129,000 after buying an additional 119,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Methanex by 629.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Methanex by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 55,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after buying an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).