Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.88 and last traded at $59.3390, with a volume of 302856 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MEOH. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Methanex from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Methanex from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Methanex in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Methanex from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.36.

Methanex Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.03 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Methanex Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 254,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,112,000 after purchasing an additional 19,588 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 12.0% in 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Methanex by 629.5% in 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 during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew 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 worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Resource Partners LP grew its position in Methanex by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Orion Resource Partners LP now owns 126,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,011,000 after buying an additional 77,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Company Profile

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).