Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target Raised to $10.50

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its target price boosted by TD Securities from $10.00 to $10.50 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. CIBC upgraded shares of Mercer International from a sector underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned 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 $9.33.

Mercer International Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MERC opened at $9.23 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.05. The company has a market capitalization of $614.07 million, a PE ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.38. 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 has a 1-year low of $7.01 and a 1-year high of $10.42.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 27th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -8.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Mercer International by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,111 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at about $155,000. Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Mercer International by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 33,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Mercer International by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 50,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 8,906 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Mercer International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $173,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.