Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.95.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MERC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Mercer International from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Securities lowered Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Mercer International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $2.25 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International in the second quarter worth approximately $1,804,000. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. now owns 16,700,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after acquiring an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Mercer International by 340.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercer International by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 994,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 137,906 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Mercer International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercer International Trading Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MERC opened at $1.68 on Monday. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $1.48 and a 12-month high of $7.43. The company has a market cap of $112.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.30.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($1.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by ($0.51). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 81.16% and a negative net margin of 26.65%.The firm had revenue of $449.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $459.84 million. Equities research analysts expect that Mercer International will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

About Mercer International

Mercer International Inc is a publicly traded pulp producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol MERC, the company specializes in the manufacture of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp and dissolving pulp for use in tissue, specialty paper and textile applications.

Mercer’s core business activities include the operation of integrated pulp mills in North America and Europe. Its production portfolio encompasses NBSK pulp, renowned for its strength and versatility, and dissolving pulp, which serves as a key raw material in the manufacture of viscose, cellulose acetate and other specialty products.

The company’s facilities are located in British Columbia and the U.S.