Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Short Interest Down 22.8% in March

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 399,000 shares, a decrease of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 516,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 332,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Mercer International by 22.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mercer International in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Stock Down 0.0 %

MERC stock traded down $0.00 on Monday, hitting $5.99. 63,156 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 361,466. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $5.33 and a 12-month high of $11.20. The stock has a market cap of $400.49 million, a P/E ratio of -4.70 and a beta of 1.20.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 5.18% and a negative net margin of 4.17%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercer International will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -23.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James cut their target price on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.25.

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.