Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $10.45

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.45 and last traded at $10.33, with a volume of 6258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MERC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. TD Securities raised their price target on Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, CIBC raised Mercer International from a "sector underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.67.

Mercer International Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $671.84 million, a PE ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $470.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. The firm's revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 26th. Mercer International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.24%.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Mercer International stock. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Free Report) TSE: MRI.U by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,291 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,182 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Mercer International were worth $114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.