Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) Price Target to $2.00

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $3.00 to $2.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

MERC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Mercer International in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Mercer International from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Mercer International from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.50.

Mercer International Price Performance

Shares of Mercer International stock opened at $1.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. Mercer International has a twelve month low of $1.55 and a twelve month high of $8.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $2.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.24. The firm has a market cap of $113.20 million, a PE ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 0.94.

Mercer International (NASDAQ:MERC) (TSE:MRI.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.08). Mercer International had a negative return on equity of 23.88% and a negative net margin of 5.60%.The business had revenue of $458.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.70 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Mercer International will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercer International news, Director Linda J. Welty bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.09 per share, with a total value of $30,900.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 36,290 shares in the company, valued at $112,136.10. This trade represents a 38.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercer International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Mercer International by 943.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 20,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 18,508 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new position in Mercer International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,804,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercer International by 340.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 276,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 214,008 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Mercer International in the second quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. grew its position in shares of Mercer International by 1.3% in the third quarter. Iat Reinsurance Co. LTD. now owns 16,700,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. 85.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.