Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Trading Up 4.3% Following Dividend Announcement

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) shares were up 4.3% during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $50.91 and last traded at $49.75. Approximately 115,088 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 292,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.71.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.185 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Methanex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MEOH. UBS Group lifted their target price on Methanex from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet raised shares of Methanex from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Methanex from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Methanex in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.38.

Methanex Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.55 and its 200 day moving average is $44.73.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $922.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.21 million. Methanex had a return on equity of 5.36% and a net margin of 4.63%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Methanex Co. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Methanex by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,018,835 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,949,000 after acquiring an additional 32,244 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Methanex during the 4th quarter valued at $195,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 11.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 317,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,312,000 after purchasing an additional 31,950 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Methanex by 356.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,583 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 13,730 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Methanex

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.