Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Trading 2.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) shot up 2.9% on Wednesday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $10.50. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock. Mercer International traded as high as $9.50 and last traded at $9.50. 42,722 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 257,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MERC. CIBC upgraded Mercer International from a “sector underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mercer International to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MERC. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its position in Mercer International by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 6,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Mercer International by 19.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercer International by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 417,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,854,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Mercer International by 6.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 65,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.79% of the company’s stock.

Mercer International Trading Up 3.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.82.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mercer International Inc. will post -0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercer International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 27th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.24%.

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.