Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $7.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

MERC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.13.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MERC opened at $6.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.85. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. The company has a market capitalization of $421.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 1.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.39) EPS. Analysts expect that Mercer International will post -1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -10.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Richard George Short purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.70 per share, with a total value of $34,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,382 shares in the company, valued at $292,877.40. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Wolfgang Beck acquired 18,500 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.02 per share, for a total transaction of $111,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 26,263 shares in the company, valued at $158,103.26. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard George Short bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,877.40. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 41,300 shares of company stock valued at $252,650. 4.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 26.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 10,713 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Mercer International in the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Mercer International in the first quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the 1st quarter worth $261,000. Hedge funds and other 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.