BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $248,000 Stock Holdings in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.05% of Mercer International worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Separately, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Mercer International by 505.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of MERC opened at $6.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $435.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $6.51 and its 200-day moving average is $7.06. Mercer International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -10.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.13.

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.