TD Securities Raises Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target to $10.50

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at TD Securities from $10.00 to $10.50 in a research note issued on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the basic materials company's stock. TD Securities' price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.76% from the company's previous close.

MERC has been the subject of several other reports. CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a "sector underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.33.

Mercer International Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MERC traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 107,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,135. The stock has a market cap of $614.07 million, a PE ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $7.01 and a 52 week high of $10.42. The company's fifty day moving average price is $9.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.05.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74) by ($0.06). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The business had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Mercer International by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,407 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 6,111 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at about $155,000. Credit Suisse AG increased its stake in Mercer International by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 33,034 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Mercer International by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 50,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 8,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the third quarter worth approximately $173,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by 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.