StockNews.com Lowers Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercer International has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $9.38.

Mercer International Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of MERC opened at $6.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 3.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.40. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $5.33 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $443.22 million, a P/E ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 1.34.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.08). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a negative return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $499.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.35 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.48) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mercer International will post -1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is -8.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercer International

In related news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno acquired 7,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.60 per share, for a total transaction of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,259. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Estrada Juan Carlos Bueno bought 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.60 per share, for a total transaction of $51,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,259. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Wolfgang Beck bought 18,500 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.02 per share, for a total transaction of $111,370.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 26,263 shares in the company, valued at $158,103.26. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 41,300 shares of company stock worth $252,650 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% during 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 Mercer International during the 1st quarter worth $261,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Mercer International in the 1st quarter valued at $193,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.