Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target Increased to $10.50 by Analysts at Raymond James

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price objective increased by Raymond James from $8.50 to $10.50 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. CIBC upgraded Mercer International from a sector underperform rating to a neutral rating and increased their price target for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. TD Securities increased their price target on Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mercer International currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.67.

Mercer International Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MERC stock opened at $9.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.07. Mercer International has a fifty-two week low of $7.01 and a fifty-two week high of $10.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $634.70 million, a P/E ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by ($0.06). Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. The firm had revenue of $470.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mercer International will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -8.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercer International by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 436,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,519,000 after acquiring an additional 12,335 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Mercer International by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 264,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Mercer International by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its stake in shares of Mercer International by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 51,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 23,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 8,906 shares in the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.