Mercer International Inc. (MERC) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 18th

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of 0.075 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th.

Mercer International has decreased its dividend by an average of 3.4% annually over the last three years. Mercer International has a dividend payout ratio of -157.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Mercer International to earn ($0.07) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -428.6%.

Mercer International Price Performance

MERC opened at $6.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $429.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.08. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week 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.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $502.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.84 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 17.62% and a negative net margin of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mercer International will post -1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MERC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.13.

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.