Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Major Shareholder Purchases $219,000.00 in Stock

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U major shareholder Peter R. Kellogg purchased 58,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.75 per share, with a total value of $219,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,000,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,500,000. This represents a 3.01% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MERC traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3.84. The company had a trading volume of 259,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,225. The stock has a market cap of $256.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.84 and a beta of 1.04. Mercer International Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.20 and a twelve month high of $8.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.38.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 12.07% and a negative net margin of 4.55%. The business had revenue of $506.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $508.42 million. On average, research analysts predict that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Mercer International's dividend payout ratio is presently -22.22%.

Institutional Trading of 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 during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.