Brokerages Set Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target at $9.67

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.67.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. CIBC upgraded Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Mercer International from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Mercer International from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Mercer International Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MERC opened at $10.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $677.19 million, a P/E ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.16. 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 has a 1 year low of $7.01 and a 1 year high of $10.45.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $508.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 27th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -8.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Mercer International stock. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing 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 quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

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.