Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Trading Up 2.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) shot up 2.9% during trading on Wednesday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $10.50. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock. Mercer International traded as high as $9.50 and last traded at $9.50. 42,722 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 257,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James increased their target price on Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. CIBC raised Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercer International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 33,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 417,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,854,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercer International Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $636.69 million, a P/E ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.06.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The business had revenue of $470.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Mercer International’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.24%.

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.