Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $10.45

Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) hit a new 52-week high during 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MERC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. CIBC raised Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.67.

Mercer International Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.11. 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 (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.46 million. Mercer International had a negative net margin of 12.14% and a negative return on equity of 29.17%. The company’s revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. Mercer International’s payout ratio is presently -8.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Mercer International stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,042 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.06% of Mercer International worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 85.79% of the stock is 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.