Insider Buying: Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Purchases 50,200 Shares of Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg acquired 50,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.62 per share, with a total value of $181,724.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,968,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,124,884. The trade was a 2.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Mercer International Stock Down 3.4%

Mercer International stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.87. 229,276 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,290. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The stock has a market cap of $258.45 million, a P/E ratio of -2.86 and a beta of 1.04. Mercer International Inc. has a 1-year low of $3.20 and a 1-year high of $8.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.36.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $506.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.42 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 12.07% and a negative net margin of 4.55%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Mercer International's payout ratio is -22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Securities reduced their target price on Mercer International from $5.50 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercer International presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Mercer International stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Free Report) TSE: MRI.U in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $58,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.