Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Given Consensus Rating of “Strong Sell” by Brokerages

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) has been given a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1.13.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MERC. TD decreased their price target on shares of Mercer International from $0.40 to $0.15 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Mercer International from $1.00 to $0.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Mercer International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price target on Mercer International from $1.50 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $798,000. Atlas FRM LLC acquired a new position in Mercer International in the second quarter worth about $393,882. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Mercer International in the second quarter valued at about $379,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Mercer International by 773.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 161,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 143,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Mercer International during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercer International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MERC opened at $0.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.58, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Mercer International has a 1-year low of $0.35 and a 1-year high of $3.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.76 million, a P/E ratio of -0.05 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $0.89.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported ($1.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $460.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.00 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 27.86% and a negative return on equity of 352.57%. Equities analysts predict that Mercer International will post -3.19 EPS for the current year.

About Mercer International

Mercer International Inc (NASDAQ: MERC) is a forest-products company focused primarily on the production and sale of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp. Its pulp is used by manufacturers of tissue, printing and writing papers, specialty papers, packaging, and other paper-based products.

The company operates three large-scale pulp mills: Mercer Celgar in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada, and Mercer Stendal and Mercer Rosenthal in Germany. These facilities serve customers in North America, Europe, and other international markets.