Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $6.58, but opened at $6.98. Mercer International shares last traded at $7.40, with a volume of 489,487 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.23. Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 5.18% and a negative net margin of 4.17%. The business had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 3.90%. Mercer International’s payout ratio is -23.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MERC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Mercer International in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Mercer International from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 525,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Mercer International by 505.8% in the third 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Mercer International by 22.7% in the third 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. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Mercer International by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 17,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Mercer International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $514.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.39.

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.