Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 29,448 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mercer International were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MERC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in Mercer International by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Mercer International in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MERC. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Mercer International from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Mercer International from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Mercer International Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MERC stock opened at $4.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.91 million, a PE ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 3.79. Mercer International Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.35 and a 1 year high of $11.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.38.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $488.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 4.17% and a negative return on equity of 5.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.71%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -23.62%.

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.