Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $6.58, but opened at $6.98. Mercer International shares last traded at $7.40, with a volume of 489,487 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 17.62%. The company had revenue of $488.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -10.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MERC shares. Raymond James cut their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercer International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mercer International during the third quarter worth $75,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Mercer International by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 41,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.46. The stock has a market cap of $497.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.29.

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.