Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

MERC has been the topic of several other reports. CIBC reduced their target price on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $9.25.

Mercer International Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MERC opened at $6.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.47 million, a P/E ratio of -1.81 and a beta of 1.36. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $6.10 and a 12-month high of $11.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.08). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 11.27% and a negative return on equity of 26.21%. The firm had revenue of $499.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.48) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 25th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 10,713 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at $193,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 1st quarter worth $261,000. Institutional investors 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.