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

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX) shares shot up 4.3% during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $50.91 and last traded at $49.75. 115,088 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session 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 payout ratio is presently 31.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MEOH. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Methanex from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. CIBC raised their target price on Methanex from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Methanex from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Methanex from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.38.

Methanex Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new position in Methanex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $178,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 40.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Methanex in the fourth quarter valued at $195,000. Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in Methanex in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in Methanex during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. 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.