Raymond James Lowers Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target to $7.00

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Raymond James from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.61% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MERC. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

Mercer International Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MERC stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.45. 121,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,501. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. 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 has a market cap of $430.98 million, a P/E ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.66.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -1.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Mercer International by 22.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Mercer International by 505.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after buying an additional 8,957 shares during the last quarter. 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.