Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Trading 2.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC - Get Free Report) TSE: MRI.U traded up 2.9% on Wednesday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $10.50. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock. Mercer International traded as high as $9.50 and last traded at $9.50. 42,722 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 257,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

MERC has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Mercer International to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. CIBC upgraded Mercer International from a "sector underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Mercer International by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,488 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Mercer International by 19.6% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Mercer International by 6.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,454 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Mercer International by 21.5% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 50,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 8,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its stake in Mercer International by 83.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 51,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 23,320 shares during the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercer International Stock Up 2.4 %

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $9.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.05. The company has a market capitalization of $628.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 2.37.

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 (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 analyst estimates of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Mercer International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.24%.

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.