Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Reaches New 1-Year High at $10.45

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.45 and last traded at $10.33, with a volume of 6258 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MERC. CIBC raised shares of Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James upped their target price on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercer International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.67.

Mercer International Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $671.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.82.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The business had revenue of $470.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.46 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.24%.

Institutional Trading of Mercer International

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Mercer International stock. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Mercer International were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 85.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.