Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Receives Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. CIBC decreased their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.13.

Mercer International Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MERC stock opened at $6.31 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.85. Mercer International has a 12-month low of $5.33 and a 12-month high of $11.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The firm has a market cap of $421.95 million, a P/E ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 1.35.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. Mercer International’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is currently -10.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercer International

In other news, VP Wolfgang Beck bought 18,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.02 per share, for a total transaction of $111,370.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 26,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,103.26. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mercer International news, VP Wolfgang Beck purchased 18,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.02 per share, with a total value of $111,370.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 26,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,103.26. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Richard George Short bought 6,000 shares of Mercer International stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.70 per share, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,877.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 41,300 shares of company stock worth $252,650. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Mercer International by 26.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 10,713 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercer International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the first quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the first quarter worth $261,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.