Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Receives $9.17 Average Target Price from Analysts

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.17.

Several analysts have issued reports on MERC shares. CIBC raised Mercer International from a "sector underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th.

Mercer International Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ MERC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.14. 161,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The company has a market cap of $674.61 million, a PE ratio of -2.79 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $9.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.97. Mercer International has a 52 week low of $7.01 and a 52 week high of $10.42.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) 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 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%. The firm's revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Mercer International's dividend payout ratio is currently -8.24%.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mercer International by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 436,073 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,519,000 after acquiring an additional 12,335 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Mercer International by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 264,007 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Mercer International by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its position in Mercer International by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 51,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 23,320 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 8,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company's stock.

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.