Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $6.53 and traded as high as $7.99. Mercer International shares last traded at $7.77, with a volume of 388,452 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MERC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Mercer International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

Mercer International Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market capitalization of $519.59 million, a PE ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.53.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -23.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mercer International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Mercer International by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Mercer International by 505.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 41,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.