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

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) shares were up 2.9% during mid-day 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. Approximately 42,722 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 257,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MERC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James lifted 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 note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercer International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 29.1% in the second 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 increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% in the third 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 increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 9.1% in the second 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 increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 0.7% in the fourth 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 increased its stake in Mercer International by 6.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Trading Up 1.3 %

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

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released 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). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

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

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.