Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $6.58, but opened at $6.98. Mercer International shares last traded at $7.40, with a volume of 489,487 shares changing hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MERC shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Mercer International in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Mercer International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Mercer International by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Mercer International by 22.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mercer International by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings 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 worth $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercer International Stock Up 16.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $514.23 million, a P/E ratio of -2.72 and a beta of 1.29. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.47.

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.