Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target Raised to $10.50

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its target price boosted by Raymond James from $8.50 to $10.50 in a research note released on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MERC. StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a sector underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mercer International has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.67.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of MERC stock opened at $9.54 on Friday. Mercer International has a 12 month low of $7.01 and a 12 month high of $10.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.08. The firm has a market cap of $634.70 million, a PE ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Mercer International will post -0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently -8.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 10.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,111 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $155,000. Credit Suisse AG boosted its stake in Mercer International by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 33,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in Mercer International by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 50,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 8,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Mercer International during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

About Mercer International

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.