TD Securities Boosts Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target to $10.50

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its target price raised by TD Securities from $10.00 to $10.50 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MERC. StockNews.com raised Mercer International to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. CIBC raised shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $9.33.

Mercer International Price Performance

NASDAQ MERC opened at $9.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $636.69 million, a P/E ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.06. 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 announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 29.17% and a negative net margin of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $470.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mercer International will post -0.63 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 27th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 26th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Mercer International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -8.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercer International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the fourth quarter worth $99,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Mercer International by 19.6% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mercer International during the 1st quarter valued at $155,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in Mercer International in the 3rd quarter valued at $173,000. 85.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.