Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) PT Raised to $10.50

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price objective raised by TD Securities from $10.00 to $10.50 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a sector underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercer International has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $9.67.

Mercer International Stock Performance

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $9.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $634.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.38. Mercer International has a 12 month low of $7.01 and a 12 month high of $10.42. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74) by ($0.06). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. The firm had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 27th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -8.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MERC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 3rd quarter worth about $296,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 264,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 83.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 51,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 23,320 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG boosted its position in shares of Mercer International by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 47,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 14,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 3rd quarter worth about $173,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.