Reviewing Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) and Billerud AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:BLRDF)

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) and Billerud AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:BLRDF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.8% of Mercer International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.0% of Billerud AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Mercer International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mercer International and Billerud AB (publ)’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mercer International	$1.99 billion	0.19	-$242.06 million	($3.43)	-1.63
Billerud AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Billerud AB (publ) has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mercer International.

Profitability

This table compares Mercer International and Billerud AB (publ)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mercer International	-9.90%	-17.93%	-4.07%
Billerud AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Mercer International and Billerud AB (publ), as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mercer International	0	4	0	0	2.00
Billerud AB (publ)	1	0	2	0	2.33

Mercer International presently has a consensus target price of $9.38, suggesting a potential upside of 67.41%. Given Mercer International’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Mercer International is more favorable than Billerud AB (publ).

Summary

Billerud AB (publ) beats Mercer International on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mercer International

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. The company also manufactures, distributes, and sells lumber, cross-laminated timber, finger joint lumber, glue-laminated timber, wood pallets, electricity, biofuels, and wood residuals. In addition, it generates and sells green energy produced from biomass cogeneration power plant to third party. Further, it produces and sells NBSK pulp manufactured from softwood; green energy using carbon-neutral biofuels, such as black liquor and wood waste; tall oil from black liquor for use as a chemical additive and green energy source; bio extractives and biomaterials, including lignin, turpentine, cellulose filaments, and sandalwood oil; and biofuels; as well as provides transportation and logistics services. The company sells its pulp to pulp markets, integrated paper and paperboard manufacturers; and lumber products to distributors, construction firms, secondary manufacturers, retail yards, and home centers. Mercer International Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Billerud AB (publ)

Billerud AB (publ) provides paper and packaging materials worldwide. It operates through Region Europe, Region North America, and Solutions & Other segments. The Region Europe segment manufactures and sells liquid packaging board, kraft paper, containerboard, cartonboard, sack paper and market pulp, which are primarily used to produce packaging for food and beverages, industrial, medical and hygiene, as well as consumer and luxury goods. The Region North America segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of graphic paper, kraft and specialty paper, and market pulp, which are primarily used for printing and publishing, packaging of food, and consumer products. Its Solutions & Other segment provides services under managed packaging; and supply woods. The company was formerly known as BillerudKorsnäs AB (publ) and changed its name to Billerud AB (publ) in October 2022. Billerud AB (publ) was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden.