Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Receives $9.67 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.67.

A number of brokerages have commented on MERC. CIBC raised Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Mercer International Stock Down 1.0 %

Mercer International stock opened at $10.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $677.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 1.38. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $7.01 and a 1-year high of $10.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.16.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.96%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Mercer International stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Mercer International worth $384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Institutional investors 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.