Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) PT Raised to $10.50 at TD Securities

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its target price upped by research analysts at TD Securities from $10.00 to $10.50 in a report released on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. TD Securities’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 upped their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Mercer International from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Mercer International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MERC opened at $9.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The company has a market cap of $628.71 million, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.05. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported ($0.80) EPS 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 business had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $508.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercer International will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MERC. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Mercer International by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 6,111 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Mercer International in the first quarter valued at $155,000. Credit Suisse AG boosted its stake in Mercer International by 9.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 21.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the third quarter worth about $173,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.