Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $6.58 and traded as high as $6.67. Mercer International shares last traded at $6.61, with a volume of 197,993 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James cut their target price on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

Mercer International Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market cap of $442.02 million, a P/E ratio of -5.20 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.77 and its 200 day moving average is $6.58.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 4.17% and a negative return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -23.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Mercer International during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. 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.