Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Price Up 2.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U)’s stock price shot up 2.9% during trading on Wednesday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $10.50. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock. Mercer International traded as high as $9.50 and last traded at $9.50. 42,722 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 257,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. CIBC raised shares of Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 29.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Mercer International in the fourth quarter worth $99,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the first quarter worth $155,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter valued at $173,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Stock Up 3.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 2.37.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is -8.24%.

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.