Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.67.

MERC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Raymond James upped their price objective on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TD Securities lifted their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at about $193,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Mercer International by 19.6% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $8.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82. The firm has a market cap of $562.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.38. Mercer International has a twelve month low of $7.01 and a twelve month high of $11.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.34.

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

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -8.75%.

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.