StockNews.com Upgrades Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MERC. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.67.

Mercer International Stock Down 3.4 %

MERC opened at $7.90 on Friday. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $7.01 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.18. The company has a market capitalization of $528.12 million, a P/E ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.36.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 11.27% and a negative return on equity of 26.21%. The firm had revenue of $553.43 million for the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -0.56 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -8.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Mercer International by 17.5% during the 4th 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Mercer International during the 1st quarter worth about $193,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mercer International during the 1st quarter worth about $261,000. 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.