Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.38.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of MERC opened at $6.70 on Friday. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $5.33 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. The firm has a market cap of $447.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.45 and a 200-day moving average of $8.12.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $499.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.35 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.93% and a negative net margin of 9.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.48) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -1.15 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 25th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercer International news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno purchased 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,259. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mercer International news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno purchased 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.60 per share, with a total value of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares in the company, valued at $446,259. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Richard George Short acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 51,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,877.40. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 41,300 shares of company stock worth $252,650. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,713 shares during the period. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercer International Company Profile

Mercer International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Solid Wood. It manufactures, sells, and distributes pulp, electricity, and chemicals through pulp mills.