Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TD Securities upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.67.

Mercer International Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Mercer International stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.48. 228,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,011. The firm has a market capitalization of $566.89 million, a P/E ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.36. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $7.01 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 26.21% and a negative net margin of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $553.43 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mercer International will post -0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MERC. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Mercer International by 26.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,713 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International in the first quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International in the first quarter worth approximately $193,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.