Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target Increased to $10.50 by Analysts at Raymond James

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U had its target price raised by stock analysts at Raymond James from $8.50 to $10.50 in a report issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Raymond James' price objective points to a potential upside of 10.06% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a "sector underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.67.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of MERC traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.54. The company had a trading volume of 158,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,670. The company has a market capitalization of $634.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.82. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.07. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $7.01 and a 1-year high of $10.42.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. Mercer International's revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Mercer International will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MERC. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Mercer International in the fourth quarter valued at $99,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter valued at about $155,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Mercer International during the 3rd quarter worth about $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company's stock.

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.