Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) PT Raised to $10.50 at TD Securities

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price target raised by stock analysts at TD Securities from $10.00 to $10.50 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. TD Securities’ target price points to a potential upside of 11.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. 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 report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Mercer International Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $9.45 on Tuesday. Mercer International has a twelve month low of $7.01 and a twelve month high of $10.42. The stock has a market cap of $628.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 1.38. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.05.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. Mercer International’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its stake in shares of Mercer International by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Mercer International in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Mercer International by 19.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the first quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Mercer International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $173,000. 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.